


This Magic Can Break Us

by lightwoodsisabelle



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Hogwarts!au, Multi, au!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2018-02-10 04:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2011470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightwoodsisabelle/pseuds/lightwoodsisabelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabelle Lightwood expected her 5th year at Hogwarts to be normal. However, when an accusation against her family throws everything into question and brings up a dark past, her year gets turned upside down. Isabelle is determined to get to the bottom of the accusations, all while dealing with her O.W.L.s, new friendships, and her brother's strange behavior. Hogwarts!AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, Harry Potter, or any of the characters and worlds within their books. All belong to J.K. Rowling and Cassandra Clare respectively. 
> 
> Also, huge thanks to my wonderful beta, Mandy. Without her, this fic would not be nearly as fleshed out as it will be. So, thank you.

“Oh, it feels so good to be going back to Hogwarts.” Isabelle Lightwood sighed, sinking into a seat on the Hogwarts Express.

“Please,” Jace Wayland, her adoptive brother, scoffed, “You’re just excited to have boys trailing after you again.”

“Wait, weren’t you the one who was complaining about the lack of girls in our village?” Alec Lightwood questioned, taking a seat next to Jace. Isabelle shot her brother a glance, noticing his cool tone, but Alec refused to meet her eyes.

Jace ignored Alec’s comment, “Why are you so excited, Iz? 5th year is hell. All the teachers assign a crazy amount of homework, trying to stress you out for your O.W.L.s.”

“Yeah, but I can actually use magic. I’ve been waiting for the past 3 months for this day!”

“Izzy, you sounds like a first year.” Alec teased.

“Says the boy who’s been using magic constantly since he turned 17!”

“She has a point, you know.” Jace agreed solemnly.

Isabelle settled back into her seat with a grin and let Alec and Jace’s conversation drift over her. As much as she loved her parents and younger brother, going back to Hogwarts was a relief. Though she had missed being able to use magic, it wasn’t why she was so relieved to be going back. The summer had taken its toll on the Lightwood family. Alec had become increasingly more moody and withdrawn while Jace had been spending less time in the house and more time in their village. Even her parents had seemed tense. Only Max, who was 9, seemed normal, constantly gabbering on about some book he was reading or his excitement to start Hogwarts in a few years. Isabelle hoped that things would be settled by the time Christmas holiday came around.

“I do wonder, though, who the new Potions Professor will be.” Jace was saying to Alec when Isabelle tuned back into the conversation.

“Wait, Professor Nightshade isn’t teaching anymore?” Isabelle interjected. While other subjects such as Transfiguration or Charms came easily to her, Potions was a class Isabelle constantly struggled with. Her first few weeks at Hogwarts, Isabelle had struggled with even the most basic potions. Professor Nightshade had taken pity on the first year and spent two nights a week giving her extra lessons. Those extra lessons were the only reason Isabelle had passed the last 4 years of Potions.

“Izzy, that was announced at the end of the year feast, last term.” Alec said, giving her an incredulous look, “Did you really not hear Headmaster Branwell’s speech about it?”

She shrugged, “Guess not. I think Aline and I were planning an end of the year celebration during Branwell’s speech.”

“Ah, I remember that party!” Jace smirked, “Kaelie and I got to know each other very well.”

“Gross, I did not want to know that,” Isabelle grimaced, “So, have you heard any rumors about who it might be? Or what they’ll be like?”

“ No. But, Headmaster Branwell wouldn’t pick a bad teacher.” Alec mused.

“I guess we’ll just have to see.”

***

Simon Lewis sat back in his seat, popping a Bertie Botts bean in his mouth, listening to his best friend, Clary Fray, list all the things that she was excited about for this year. He knew Clary felt much more comfortable at Hogwarts than she did at home. As much as she loved her mother, Simon knew that she was happier when she was learning about magic and how to wield her powers.

“Clary,” he interrupted, “Is there anything you’re not excited for?”

She thought for a moment, her green eyes shining, “Maybe the O.W.L.s? But, even that sounds more exciting than muggle exams.”

Simon gazed at Clary while she continued on about what she hoped would happen this year. The two of them had lived in the same muggle town and have been friends for as long he could remember. Over the years, Simon became more and more aware of how his heart pounded every time he saw her and how Clary seemed to get more beautiful with each passing day. When he received his Hogwarts letter, the first thing he felt after joy was disappointment- Clary wouldn't be able to come with him, and he'd be resigned to seeing her solely in the summer and during holidays. His fear was short lived though, as Clary came running down their street, Hogwarts letter in hand, not ten minutes later. Despite being sorted into different Houses, the two remained the best of friends and Simon's feelings still grew. But he had a plan. This was the year he was going to tell her of his feelings...eventually.

"Simon?" Clary looked at him, her eyes brimming with concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry.” He said giving her a reassuring smile, “I must have spaced out. What were you saying?"

"I was saying how-" Clary became distracted by something outside of their compartment. Or rather, someone, Simon noted when he followed her gaze. Jace Wayland had walked by, listening to something Kaelie Fey was animatedly saying. Simon glanced back at Clary and scowled at admiration on her face. Jace was a year older than them and had fascinated Clary since her first year. She claimed that she only was interested in him for 'artistic purposes’- because she thought he’d be a challenge to draw, an angel out of the Sistine Chapel,, but Simon knew better. He knew that Clary found him attractive, but she and Jace had never talked, which guiltily pleased Simon.

"Clary?" Simon called, regaining her attention.

"Sorry." She squeaked, her cheeks flushing, "I was saying how this year is probably going to be really difficult, and I wanted to know if you'd be able to help me with Transfiguration this year."

"Yeah, of course." Simon and Clary fell back into a normal conversation, but Simon couldn’t help but notice that Clary had kept an eye on the door for the rest of the ride.

***

Watching Alec and Isabelle make their way to the Slytherin table was always the hardest part about the first feast of the year. When he was a first year, he had been enchanted with the idea that he and Alec would be in the same house together. He saw Alec's face drop when the Sorting Hat had called out "Gryffindor" and imagined his face must have looked equally grim.

The next year was Isabelle's first year, and Jace found himself hoping that she'd either be put in Gryffindor with him or in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. However, Isabelle was placed in Slytherin with Alec. And it wasn't as though Jace didn't have plenty of his own friends or not like being a Gryffindor. That wasn't the case. He just missed being with his siblings. And coming back from summer holiday, where the three of them ate almost every meal together, the first feast was always bittersweet.

Jace sat himself down at the Gryffindor table, too preoccupied with his thoughts to pay attention to who he sat next to. When he looked around, he saw that he was seated across from Maia Roberts, a Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and a small redheaded girl that he vaguely recognized from the Common Room.

“So, Maia,” Jace began, ignoring the Sorting Hat’s opening song, “Think you’ll be able to bring some of your magic to the field without Jordan this year?”

Maia’s face hardened and threw Jace a disgusted look before she stood up and found a new seat further down the table. Jace tried to figure out what he had said wrong- it was no secret to anyone that Jordan Kyle and Maia were dating. Especially to those who had been on the team with them last year. The two of them had  been incredible Beater partners, easily the best in the school.

“It wasn’t anything you said,” The little redheaded girl said, her eyes following Maia. She frowned. “She had a really difficult summer.”

“Of course she did- she didn’t get to see my face everyday.”  
She turned to stare at him with an incredulous look on her face, “Somehow, I think she managed without seeing it.”

He smirked, “I’ve heard otherwise. I’m sure the only reason you survived this summer was because we had never talked before.” When she didn’t reply, he stuck out his hand, “Jace Wayland.”

“Clary Fray,” She replied, shaking his hand.

“Besides,” Jace couldn’t help but add, “it’s not your fault that you didn’t know me. You’re probably, what? A second or third year? It makes sense that our paths never crossed.”  
Clary recoiled sharply, letting his hand drop., “I’m a fifth year!”

Jace bit back a laugh, “Forgive me. I don’t quite recall seeing you and you are...small.”

Clary scowled but did not reply. His attention was almost entirely back to the Sorting when he heard, “And I did know who you were.”

“Oh, did you?” He smirked lazily at her, focusing his attention on her again.

She rolled her eyes but responded, “Through Quidditch. You scored the most points for our team last year.”

“Big Quidditch fan, are you?”

Her eyes lit up and a small smile graced her face, “I love it.”

“Are you planning in trying out for the team?” When she nodded, he leaned forward and asked, “What position?” He was honestly curious as he took in her small frame with a critical eye.

The sorting  just ended as Headmaster Branwell stood to make her Welcome Back speech, but Jace was focused entirely on Clary as she grinned, her cheeks dimpling, and said, “Seeker.”.

***

Alec only half listened to Headmaster Branwell’s speech. The other half of his attention was preoccupied by keeping an eye on his little sister. She and Aline Penhallow had their heads together, ignoring the speech as usual. The two of them were infamous for throwing parties and Alec wouldn’t put it past them to figure out a way to host one tonight.

“And now,” Headmaster Branwell’s voice cut into Alec’s thoughts, “I’d like to introduce our new potions professor, Professor Bane.”

Alec sucked in a breath as the new Professor stood. Professor Bane wore a teal velvet cloak, standing out from the deeper colors of the other professors cloaks. He had smooth, tan skin, and even from where Alec sat, he could see his bright green eyes. When he smiled at all the students, Alec’s heart unexpectedly skipped a beat.

Whatever Headmaster Branwell said after that, Alec didn’t hear. He was captivated by the new professor. Alec watched as he leaned over and murmured something to Professor Gray, who in turn, giggled and quietly replied.

He tore his gaze back to Isabelle when he felt a quick kick in his shins. “What?”

She leaned across the table and said, “You were staring.”

A hot flush colored Alec’s cheeks. Isabelle was the only one who knew about his sexuality, and Alec planned on keeping it that way. His family was very traditional and didn’t approve of “that lifestyle”. If there was one thing Alec was terrified of, it was disappointing his parents.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Alec began to help himself to the food that had just appeared on the table.

“So, I’m thinking that we should do the party tomorrow,” Aline explained, “Everyone will just want to unpack and destress from the train ride.”

“We’d also get more time to spread the word if we do it tomorrow.”

“You’re going to host the party the first day of classes?” Alec raised his eyebrows.

Isabelle narrowed her eyes, “Yes. It’ll be a nice way to welcome in the school year.”

“What about homework? Now that you’re 5th years, I wouldn’t put it past our teachers to give you work on the first day back. Especially Professor Starkweather.”

Aline sipped her pumpkin juice, “Then we work on it during dinner or before the party. Lighten up, Alec.”

“It’s one party, Alec. We’ll be fine. And, even if you don’t approve, Aline and I will just throw it anyway.”

Alec sighed, “I know. That’s what worries me. But, if you need me to, I will help you set up and get it ready.”

Isabelle and Aline both grinned at him and went back to planning excitedly. Alec, for the remainder of dinner, while unpacking and even as he went to bed couldn’t help but think about those bright green eyes.

****  
  



	2. Chapter 2

When Isabelle awoke the next morning, the first thing she noticed was how silent her room was. Normally, she'd wake to the sounds of the other girls in her year getting ready, giggling and gossiping, or, at the very least, the sound of their deep breathing as they tried to sneak in their last few minutes of rest before the day started.

But the room was silent. A quick glance at her watch confirmed that Isabelle had slept in. Far later than she should have; classes were just starting. Frantically, she moved about the room, pulling on her uniform and trying to make herself look somewhat decent for her first day back. After running a brush through her hair a few times and grabbing her bag, which was fully stocked with fresh parchment and quills, Isabelle hurried out of the Slytherin common room and began the run to her first class. The path to Professor Starkweather's room was a lengthy one, one that included plenty of turns down seemingly random and endless corridors. She was glad that this wasn't her first year; there would have been no way she could have navigated the halls by herself.

Skidding to stop, Isabelle paused outside a large wooden door and smoothed her uniform and hair. If she was going to be late and cause a scene, she was not going to go in there looking frazzled and frumpy. She pushed the door open slowly, ignoring the way the hinges squeaked to mark her arrival.

"Ah," Professor Starkweather said as Isabelle  walked into class, "Miss Lightwood. So nice of you to join us." Isabelle bit her tongue, knowing that whatever she said wouldn't go over well with him. "I would except 1st years to be late...not a 5th year student. Don't make it a habit."

Isabelle nodded before sliding into the only available seat, next to small Clarissa Fray, who looked up from a mess of doodles on her page to watch the other girl slide into the seat beside her."Excuse me, sir?" A Gryffindor girl with her hand raised gave Isabelle a pointed look,  "Would you mind going over the details of the Uprising, as a refresher?"

Professor Starkweather looked a bit bemused. Isabelle raised her brow, most of the class had turned to look at her upon the other girl’s request.. The Uprising was something that everyone knew about. It was one of the first things that they had been taught in history when they were 1st years. "I suppose I can..."

Isabelle pulled out her parchment and a quill to doodle with, following Clarissa’s lead. She'd probably heard the story of the Uprising at least a thousand times, but she still listened absently.

"As you all know, the relationship with muggles and wizard have always been barely civil, at best. Muggles in the past have always been afraid of us and our powers, which is why our existence is kept from them these days..  Most people in the wizarding community looked down on them. Despite this, the Minister of Magic has always kept the powerful muggles in the know. Most common muggles have no knowledge of our existence. . We were just fables to tell their children about.

"About 25 years ago or so, tensions between half-blooded wizards and muggle-born wizards  were growing. Even though there are no real differences between pure-bloods and half-bloods, there were  still strong prejudices against those who didn’t have a pure wizard background.

" Unfortunately, or fortunately as some saw it, a young man around your age began to get interested in wizarding politics. He wanted to take a stand with his beliefs. He believed that those who weren’t fully magical, or who didn’t have two wizard parents, weren’t as deserving as pure-bloods. He believed that half-blood wizards and muggle-borns didn’t have the same amount of magic as those who were pure blood. He was mad at the Minister of Magic for keeping wizards a secret. He thought muggles should know about us, be grateful for us, worship us really. He developed a plan that was supposed to out the wizarding world to the muggles. Show them how much more powerful we were than them and become almost godlike in their eyes. He also wanted to rid muggleborns and half-bloods from the school, rendering them no more magical than muggles. He began spreading his ideas around Hogwarts. Many other pure-blood students agreed with him. His followers made up what he called the Circle. They agreed with his ideas and were ready to do whatever it took to make his plans succeed.

"The man I'm referring to is, of course, Valentine. As he came closer to finishing 7th year, he became more and more frantic and possessed by his plans. He would spend hours in the library, researching information about the Ministry’s infrastructure, trying to figure out who would support him in the higher ranks and make extensive plans on how to reach his final goal..

"Everyone in the Circle helped. Even after they left Hogwarts, the Circle and Valentine continued to meet. Valentine spent most of his time perfecting his plan, gaining more followers and conducting Circle meetings. Finally, he had mastered out a plan- he and his followers were to storm the Ministry on the day that high ranking half-bloods and muggle-borns were planning on meeting with the Ministry of Magic. They and the Minister were going to discuss possible solutions to the growing unrest within the wizarding community between the pure-bloods and the rest. .

"Valentine had planned on having the Circle members attacking the wizards that weren't in the meeting, the ones who were waiting in the lobby of the building. He wanted to show the rest of the community how much more powerful his group of pure blooded wizards were compared to the half-bloods and muggle-borns. While this was going on, he was going to go where the Minister of Magic was meeting and demand that things changed, and that pure-bloods were put back where he thought they deserved to be. Above everyone else. He had spoken and gotten verbal agreement from several Ministry workers that this course of action would work and the Minister would be on Valentine’s side. He was completely confident in his plans. Fearless.

"However, there were far too many wizards in the lobby for it to be a fair fight for his followers, no matter how much more powerful they thought themselves. While there was a large amount of members, it seemed that an unprecedented number of muggle-borns and half-bloods came out for support. When the Circle attacked, the other wizards fought back ruthlessly. Blood, spells, and bodies flew everywhere. Both sides lost a substantial amount of people, but neither side gave up.

"When Valentine barged into the Minister of Magic’s office, the Minister was disgusted with him. He screamed at Valentine and had him arrested on the spot. The Minister stormed out in a rage and immediately ordered a cease-fire. Those who supported Valentine were arrested and given trials to determine their fates. Many got off with warnings or were exiled from the wizarding world. It was common knowledge that a number of half-blood and muggle-born murders had risen in the past years. The trials revealed exactly which Circle members were responsible for what. However, there were some families got off easier than most." His eyes focused on Isabelle's face for a few moments. She stuck her chin out defiantly. It wasn't a secret that her family, like many other pure-blooded families, had been a part of the Circle. Somehow, her family had gotten off with a lighter punishment, only having to relocate from their London home to their current home in Idris, as well as a short suspension from their position as aurors.

"As far as Valentine went, he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. The wizarding world has since made vast improvements in terms of relationships between muggle-borns and pure-bloods, and discrimination has been outlawed by the Minister.

“Does that satisfy you, Miss Youngblood?”

Isabelle felt something poking her arm, and when she looked down, she saw a note hastily scribbled by Clarissa. Have you read the Daily Prophet today?

No. Should I have? Isabelle shot Clarissa a questioning look, but became distracted as Professor Starkweather dismissed them. She packed up and began to leave before she heard Clarissa calling her name. People whispered as they passed.

“What?”

The smaller girl dug around in her bag before handing Isabelle a crumpled Daily Prophet, “I have to run to my next class, but you need to read the front page.”

Isabelle watched her leave before she glanced at the front page of the paper. Upon seeing the headline, she froze before quickly scanning the rest of article.

**_“Valentine Circle Members Up To Their Old Tricks?:_ **

**_It was only 20 years ago that Valentine Morgenstern and his followers were murdering those who weren’t “pure-blooded” wizards. They killed them gruesomely, leaving behind cruel notes that sent waves of fear into the muggle-born and half-blood community. Since his imprisonment in Azkaban, tensions between the wizard groups have been neatly packed away, with the help of laws that ban anti-muggle-born acts. However, this morning, Karen Jaeil (35), was found dead in her home. While this may have ordinarily been labeled as a random homicide, aurors are now wondering if Valentine’s followers are beginning their anti-muggle-born/half-blood attacks again. As revealed by the now infamous Circle members’ trails, each family had their own signature of attacks. Jaeil, a muggle-born, was found dead with  a stab wound to the heart, after she had been stunned. A small ‘L’ was found carved into her wrist. This was, of course,  the signature of the Lightwoods, a pure-blood family that admitted to being a part of the Circle, 20 years ago. Aurors are currently investigating the Lightwoods’ potential involvement and if other Circle members are involved as well. Karen Jaeil’s eulogy can be found on page 3.”_ **

Isabelle was running before she was even aware of what she was doing. She knew that Alec had potions as his second class of the day, so she flew down the stairs, pushing past people until she got to the dungeons. She scanned the corridor,  her heart violently pumping as she searched for him. She let out a quick sigh of relief when she spotted his tall form, about to enter the classroom.

“Alec!” He made his way towards her, the smile from his face dropping as he moved closer. His eyes filled with concern as he looked her over; she knew she probably looked horrible- her hair sweaty, eyes wild, clutching a wrinkled newspaper.

“Izzy? Are you alright?” She wordlessly handed him the paper and watched him read it. His eyes hardened as he read further on. “Was this published today?”

She nodded mutely. Her mind was spinning. “They all know.”

“Who knows?”

“Everyone. Some girl in my history class asked Professor Starkweather to go over the Uprising and people were staring. . Oh, God. Everyone thinks that our parents killed that woman.” Isabelle spoke quickly, panic filling her chest.

“Izzy, Isabelle, calm down. Take deep breaths.” Alec waited for his sister to follow his instructions before adding, “Last night, Mum and Dad were with Max. Even if aurors investigate, they won’t find anything because our parents didn’t do it.”

“They didn’t do it...” Isabelle numbly repeated.

“No. This will all blow over in a few days.”

Isabelle nodded, the panic in her dark eyes dying away, “I should probably let you get to class, huh?”  
Alec glanced back, seeing the last few stragglers head in, “Probably. Class starts in a minute or so. Are you going to be late?”

“Yes, but I have Professor Gray next. Hopefully she’ll understand why I’m late.” She took a steadying breath, “Thank you, Alec. I’m sure you’re right about all this.” She gave him a quick hug before darting back up the stairs towards her class.

“I hope so,” Alec murmured after her.  

***

Alec hurried into his class, thankful that the new Professor was turned away from his students. He noticed that Professor Bane’s cloak wasn’t a bright color, but a normal black. Yet, the longer he looked at it, the more it seemed to shimmer with every little movements that Professor Bane made.

“Welcome back!” Professor Bane turned around suddenly, a bright grin on his face.His cloak seemed to take a few extra seconds to catch up with his movements. Up close, Alec noted that he was even more handsome than the young wizard had originally thought. He had smooth tan skin, dark hair that was spiked up, and his smile really did light up his face.

“7th year! Congratulations on making it this far,” He continued, scanning the room, “Even though this is your last year, slacking off in your schoolwork won’t make your lives any easier. This is arguably your most important year, and being lazy is no excuse to not get the job of your dreams.

“Now, as this is a N.E.W.T course, it will be significantly more difficult than your previous years in Potions. I’m trying to prepare you for any career you want to take, from a healer, a teacher or an auror. As I do want you to succeed, if you find yourself falling behind or struggling, you can come talk to me and we can work out extra lessons, if need be. Effort is rewarded, laziness is not.” His eyes met Alec’s, who had to fight hold back a gasp. Last night, at the feast, Alec thought that the new professors eyes had been an abnormally bright green color, but up close, he could see that they were a mixture of green and yellow, a color that Alec had only seen in cat eyes.

A smirk formed on Professor Bane’s lips, “Now, we’re going to start off with a potion today, just so I can see where you all are with your skills. The potion you’ll be brewing today is a memory potion. Aurors keep well-stocked of this particular potion, as it can remove certain memory block spells that have been put on victims or suspects. This potion is on the advanced side, so I have some doubt  you’ll be able to finish this in time, but do try your best. Just because you have a time restraint, does not mean you should be sloppy with your work! Alright, you have an hour and a half, and the instructions are on page 89. Good luck!”

Books were pulled out of  students bags, and the sound of pages turning filled the dungeon. Professor Nightshade had had a very easygoing nature, so classes were often filled with the happy chatter from students. However, none of the students knew Professor Bane’s teaching style, so they kept to themselves, all determined to impress him with their potions.

Alec, who had always been okay, but never great at potions, was nervous. He had a strong desire to please this new teacher. As he scanned the page, he realized that there was no way to finish in time. Some of the ingredients were required to simmer for up to 20 minutes at a time. With the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to finish on time, Alec decided that he was going to just take his time and be as precise as he could be.

He gathered the ingredients from the cabinet, and noticed that the Professor was making his way around the room. Alec’s heart did a nervous flutter. He quickly made his way back to his table and began to cut the mandrake root into careful slices. He soon became engrossed in his work, taking his time with every ingredient, being sure his cauldron was staying at the precise heat, and stirring it exactly when his textbook told him too.

A little over halfway through the time, Alec felt a presence behind him and the strong scent of sandalwood. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore Professor Bane. When he finally moved onto another student’s table, Alec glanced around the room. Most of his classmates had their potions at a darker greenish color, which was the color that the potion was supposed to be before it turned into a nice light green color. His was dark, but closer to blue. Alec knew that he had been going slower than most people, but he didn’t realize that he was that far behind.

“Alright, time to clean up, bottle your potions, label them and turn them in!” Professor Bane, now standing in the front of the classroom, announced. Alec felt a jolt of panic. How would Professor Bane be grading the potions, if he knew they weren’t going to finish? If it was based off of how far they got, Alec wouldn’t stand a chance. But, if it was based off of following the instructions, he may have a chance at a higher grade.

He quickly cleaned his station and bottled his potion. As he walked to turn in the vial, his hands began to tremble. When he handed the potion to Professor Bane, he must have noticed the nerves. Professor Bane’s smile became gentler, “Don’t worry. It’s not solely based on completion. From what I saw when I was walking around the room, you should be fine.”

Relief flooded through Alec’s body. He’d be okay. As he packed up his books and walked to his next class, his mind kept playing Professor Bane’s smile over and over.

***

Simon settled into his seat, feeling good about the day. He was finally back at Hogwarts, he was about to start his first class in his favorite subject, and later tonight, he and Clary were to going to be hanging out. Yes, it felt good to be back at Hogwarts.

“Alright class,” Professor Gray smiled warmly at her students, “Welcome back! I’m not going to give you a whole lecture about how you have to be prepared to for a difficult year or how this year is such a crucial point in your life. I’m sure your previous professor already went over it, and I don’t want to add too much stress yet.” Her grey eyes twinkled as she scanned the class. “Before we start the lesson-”

She was cut off as the door to her classroom banged open. All the students turned to look, including Simon to see who was interrupting. Isabelle Lightwood stood in the entryway, her long dark hair windswept and bright red cheeks.

“Miss Lightwood,” Professor Gray’s face had tightened, “You’re a 5th year. I expect you here on time.”

“I know, Professor,”

“Detention tonight after dinner.” A shocked murmur travelled through the students. Everyone knew that Isabelle was incredibly talented at Transfiguration, and figured she must have been Professor Gray’s favorite student. No one expected Professor Gray to give Isabelle detention, let alone on the first day back.

Isabelle’s face paled, but she nodded at sat in the back of the class without another word. “As I was saying,” Professor Gray continued, “I’d like to remind everyone that I am always here for additional help in this class. I have faith that all of you can get an Acceptable or above on your O.W.L.s, but I’m more than happy to work with anyone that is concerned about the tests. Now, shall we begin?”

As she turned to write on the chalkboard, Simon snuck a quick look back at Isabelle. Normally, she sat near the front of the class, her dark eyes bright and alert. Today, she seemed distant, as if she were only half paying attention. He pulled his attention away from her and back to the board, scribbling down what Professor Gray had written.

The rest of the class flew by in a blur. Professor Gray had merely given them notes and an assignment to look up the history and usage of a complex spell that would change an animal into an inanimate object. “Remember, the paper is due on Friday...and Miss Lightwood, I expect to see you here tonight.” Professor Gray called out as her students started to head out for lunch.

As Simon left the classroom, he heard someone calling his name. He couldn’t help but feel surprised when Isabelle ran up to him.

“Simon, right?” Isabelle pushed her hair out of her face with one hand. “I need your help.”

“Uh..okay? With what?” He and Isabelle weren’t friends. She hung out with her siblings, Aline Penhallow, and a few other well-liked Slytherins. He stuck with Clary and Maia Roberts.

“I need to find Clarissa Fray.”

His eyes widened. Whatever he had been expecting to hear, it wasn’t that. “Why?”

Her face hardened quickly, “That’s between Clarissa and I.”

“Clary.” Isabelle stared blankly at him, “Her name is Clary. If you really need to talk to her, you should probably know know that.”

Isabelle sighed, “Can you just take me to her? I know you know where she is. You two are practically attached at the hip.”

Simon felt his face turn red, but still nodded. He knew that Clary was planning on spending most of her time in her dorm room unpacking. He led Isabelle through the corridors silently before his curiosity got the best of him. “Can I ask you something?”

Isabelle’s eyebrows rose, “Sure,”

“Why were you late to Transfiguration?”

She snorted, “Nosy, are we?”

Simon shrugged, “You don’t have tell me. I was just wondering.”

Isabelle remained silent for so long that Simon didn’t think she’d answer the question. Finally, she let out a long sigh, “I had to talk to Alec about...something important.” Simon could tell she wouldn’t expand on what her talk was about, so he just nodded, leaving her to her thoughts as they walked.

Simon stopped outside of the portrait of the Fat Lady, “She should be in her dorm,, unpacking.”

Isabelle frowned at the portrait. “I haven’t been able to find out the password from Jace yet. I haven’t seen him all day,” She murmured to herself.

The Fat Lady stared at the two of them, “Are you going to give me the password, or are you just going to stand there all day?’”

Simon flushed- he much preferred the Hufflepuff entrance, where old paintings didn’t try to tempt you into a verbal fight. He had heard stories from Clary about the Fat Lady goading certain students she didn’t like or making it difficult for them to enter their Common Room.

Isabelle, however, straightened her back and narrowed her eyes. “That depends. Have you seen my brother?”

The Fat Lady sniffed, “Dear, I see hundreds of students a day. Do you really expect me to keep tabs on your brother?”

“No, but you seem to know him by name which is more than you can probably say for most of the other Gryffindors. You’d recognize him.”

“Who is your brother again?”

Isabelle rolled her eyes, “Jace Wayland?”

A smile formed on the Lady’s face, and Simon noted that she seemed a bit pink, “Oh, yes. Jace. He decided to stay in for lunch, so it seems. He came back after his last class and hasn’t left yet.”

Isabelle and Simon stared at the Fat Lady, waiting for her to open and reveal the Gryffindor Common Room. Simon cleared his throat as she remained caught up in her own thoughts.

“What is it now? I’ve told you where your brother is.” The Fat Lady snapped.

“Well, I was hoping you’d let me in,” Isabelle’s voice had taken on a slight edge. With her hands clenched and lips pursed into a line, Simon thought she looked terrifying and dangerous.

“You’re not a Gryffindor and you don’t have the password.” The Fat Lady stated.

Isabelle opened her mouth angrily, but Simon quickly interjected, “She only wants to speak to her brother. She won’t take too long. It’s not like you have to tell her the password.”

The Fat Lady raised her chin indignantly, but swung open, “Be glad that you had this young man, Miss Lightwood.”

Isabelle turned to look at Simon before she climbed in, “Thank you.”

Simon smiled and scratched his head, “No problem. Just...don’t hurt Clary.”

Something passed over Isabelle’s face before she smoothed out her features, but it was too quick for Simon to place what emotion he had seen. She nodded once before entering the Gryffindor Common Room. Simon felt something flutter in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he identified as nerves. But he wasn’t sure if he was nervous for Clary having to talk to an angry Isabelle, or if he was nervous for Isabelle, who seemed so unlike herself today.

***

Clary hummed to herself as she unpacked her suitcase. She didn’t want to deal with the chaos of the 4 other girls in her dorm unpacking at once. It also meant she could spend more time with Simon before their lives got crazy. She was so engrossed in unpacking and folding her clothes, that Clary didn’t see the tall figure standing at the door. When the figure cleared their throats, she jumped, dropping the shirt she was holding.

“You startled me,” Clary said, turning around. Her voice died when she saw who was standing in the doorway. Isabelle Lightwood glowered at her, her cheeks red and hands clenched at her sides. When History had begun with Madeline Youngblood asking about the Uprising, Clary had quickly glanced at Isabelle. The muggle-born’s death had been the talk of breakfast, everyone whispering about the Lightwood’s potential involvement. Clary had seen neither Lightwood sibling, or Jace, for that matter at the tables. When she saw how bored Isabelle looked in class, she knew that Isabelle hadn’t read the Prophet, and Clary hoped that Isabelle wouldn’t have to find out through the tormenting of her peers.

“Why?” Isabelle spat, the single word coming out clipped, as if she was holding something back.

“What?”

“Why? Why did you tell me? Are you trying to blackmail me and my family somehow? Are you going to spread rumors about how Alec and I are involved if I don’t do something for you?” Isabelle was shaking, “What is it that you want?  Are you trying to bribe me into getting you and Jace together? I mean-”

“Stop.” Clary’s voice came out strong, despite how shaken up she felt. This is what Isabelle thought she was trying to do? Her annoyance won out over her shock. “I’m not trying to do any of that.”

Isabelle let out deep, shaky breath, slumping slightly forward, “What do you want, then?” She asked, her voice breaking.

“I don’t want anything.”

Isabelle gave a disbelieving chuckle, “Then why would show me that? What did you gain from it?”

Clary exploded, “I was trying to help you!” Isabelle’s dark eyes widened, “I wanted you to see the article for yourself before you had to deal with our classmates. No one saw you at breakfast, but the whole Great Hall was practically buzzing with the news. People like Madeline Youngblood are going to be cruel to you, so I wanted you to be able to prepare yourself for what was to come.”

Isabelle stared at her, clearly taken aback the red head’s outburst. “You were....trying to help?”

“Yes,” Clary turned her back on Isabelle, not wanting to see the surprise on Isabelle’s face. As furious as Clary was at the accusations that Isabelle made, she couldn’t help but feel pity for her. She looked as though she was unable to grasp the concept of someone wanting to help her. Clary wondered how many close friends Isabelle truly had, aside from her family.

“I’m sorry,” Isabelle whispered, sinking on one of the beds in the room, “I...I didn’t know.”

“Did you really think that I told you because I wanted something? Do you truly think that low of me?” Clary turned again, her eyes meeting Isabelle’s.

“Not of you necessarily...but of people, yes.” Clary could feel her anger weakening at Isabelle’s words. She sounded so miserable. “I’m sorry, Clary.”

Clary sighed, “It’s fine.”

“Was everyone really talking about it at breakfast?” When Clary nodded, Isabelle flopped back on Clary’s bed and groaned, “What am I going to do?”

Clary tried to keep her surprise from showing on her face. Isabelle Lightwood, who she had never spoken to until today, was laying on her bed and asking her for advice. “Just...be your normal self? The girl who doesn’t give two shits about anyone else.”

Clary was glad to see Isabelle roll her eyes and sound almost like her old self when she said, “Obviously. I meant, do I defend my family, or do I just not say anything?”  
Clary shrugged, “I know you think that your family is innocent,” Clary hurried to finish her sentence as Isabelle’s eyes flashed dangerously, “But, do you think it’d be worth it to have to continually defend yourself? I mean, I’m sure this will blow over and everyone will forget. But, I can’t make that choice for you.”

Isabelle pursed her lips, “I just don’t want anyone to think badly of my family. I don’t care so much about Alec, Jace or myself. But this hurts my family, my 9 year old brother who can’t defend himself here.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, Isabelle. Just...follow your instinct.”

Isabelle sat up, smiling, “You’re right.” She flounced to the door, “You know, you’re not bad, Clary.” With a brilliant smile, she left the room.

**Clary stared after her, wondering what just happened.**


	3. Chapter 3

Despite her talk with Clary, Isabelle was glad she only had one class before dinner. Even just walking to Divination, she felt the cold stares and sneers of her classmates. She kept her head held high, but it was all she could do to not turn around and give them a piece of her mind. Her parents may not have the most innocent of pasts, but there was no way that they were behind the murder of Karen Jaeil. She was glad her Divination class was with her fellow Slytherins. She hoped they wouldn’t be as harsh as other students since they knew her better than the rest of the school.

However, after enduring the  sharp gaze of Madame Dorothea and the smothering scent of lavender incense, Isabelle was more than happy to escape to the fresh air of the corridor after the class ended. To her pleasant surprise, Aline was waiting at the bottom of the ladder, beaming when she saw Isabelle.

“Isabelle! Tonight is going to be so great. I was so excited that I could barely sit still through Charms.”

Isabelle furrowed her brow, “What’s tonight?” she asked.

Aline’s face dropped, “The party? Our “Welcome back to Hogwarts, let’s ring in the new year party? The one we planned last night and the one that I’ve been telling everyone about?”

“Oh, shit,” Isabelle rubbed her face as the two of them made their way through the corridor, “Sorry, I completely spaced. Today’s kind of been hectic.” When Aline opened her mouth to comment, Isabelle quickly added, “I also have detention, so I’ll be late.”

“Isabelle, how did you manage to get detention on the first day?”

“For being late to my classes.” Isabelle shot a mock glare at Aline, “And thanks for waking me up this morning.”

Aline giggled, “I was running late myself. Besides, I didn’t think you’d actually be late for class. Wait a second. We have History of Magic together. Professor Starkwell didn’t give you detention. Are you saying you were late for another class?”

“Maybe...”

Groaning, Aline asked, “Which teacher gave you detention?”

“Professor Gray.”

The shorter girl shrugged, “That could be a lot worse. At least she likes you.”

“That’s true, I suppose.”

“People are probably going to stay relatively late since  we have no classes tomorrow, which means that no matter what time you get out of detention, there should still be a party going on.”

Isabelle managed a small smile. It quickly fell as the two girls entered the Great Hall. Though the majority of the students ignored her, Isabelle noticed a few groups of students that glanced at her before quickly turning to whisper to their friends. She gritted her teeth, but refused to acknowledge them. Aline and Isabelle sat across from Alec, who gave them each a smile.

“Alec, you’re still coming to the party tonight, right?” Aline asked before Isabelle was able to say anything.Isabelle picked at some food, spooning some rice and chicken on her plate even though she wasn’t hungry.

“Probably. I was going to quickly go to the library to check out some books and maybe get a jump start on some essays beforehand, though. But I guess I can save that for tomorrow.” Isabelle crinkled her nose at the idea of starting homework on the first weekend of the year.

“Good, because Isabelle landed herself in detention and I really don’t fancy being there alone.”

Isabelle shook her head, sliding her fork through the pile of food on her plate as she spoke, “Aline, it’s not like it’ll be just you in the common room. Jace will be there. And,” She added slyly, “I’m sure Helen wouldn’t mind if you hung out with her until I got there.”

Aline blushed slightly and grabbed the nearest container of pumpkin juice.

Alec met Isabelle’s eyes, “So Professor Gray didn’t take you being late so well, huh?”

“Not quite,” Isabelle poured herself some pumpkin juice and watched as Aline focused her attention on her plate, still blushing., “But I’m done talking about it for now. Tell me how your day went. How was potions? Is the new Professor any good?”

Isabelle raised a brow when Alec’s cheeks slightly flushed, turning the same shade as Aline’s She made a mental note to ask him about it when Aline and other students weren’t around, “Yeah, he seems like he’ll be a good teacher.” His eyes refocused on Isabelle’s, “He seems like he’s willing to help you and wants you to do well.”

“Good,” Isabelle sighed before moving onto another topic. Their conversations throughout dinner were empty and meaningless. Isabelle wasn’t sure that Aline was only  busy worrying about hosting the party alone and Alec seemed distracted. Their cheeks remained a stained pink color for the rest of dinner.

Taking one last bite of her pumpkin pie, Isabelle stood up, stretching her long limbs, “Alright, I guess it’s time for me to go see Professor Gray. Don’t have too much fun without me,” She winked at Aline before hurrying out of the Great Hall.

The corridors were mostly empty and no one paid much attention to Isabelle. They were too focused on discussing their first day back and how their plans for the weekend. She made quick work of the walk to her professor’s office and upon reaching Professor Gray’s office, took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Of all the teachers at Hogwarts, Professor Gray was one of the ones that Isabelle respected the most. She didn’t want the professor to think that being late would turn into anything more than an one-off thing.  

“Come in,” Professor Gray called, in response to Isabelle’s knock on the door. When Isabelle walked in, Professor Gray was sitting behind her desk. Unlike the put-together professor that Isabelle was used to from class, Tessa seemed much more relaxed in the confines of her brightly lit office. Her dark curls were out of her updo and she had ink-stains on her hands. Isabelle moved to  sit in the chair across from her, fiddling with her hands in her lap as the older lady watched her carefully..

“Would you like some tea?”

“Excuse me?”

“Tea, Miss Lightwood, would you like some?” Professor Gray put a small teacup in front of Isabelle and offered her the teapot.

Isabelle poured herself some tea and watched Gray pour her own cup and calmly drink from it.A long burst of silence filled the room, only interrupted by the sound of a clock ringing from somewhere behind the professors desk. Finally, Isabelle couldn’t help but ask, “Am I going to have to scrub the trophy room?”

Professor Gray laughed, “Of course not. What made you think that?”

“I’m here for detention...usually I’m given the task of cleaning the trophy room when I get detention. Or something along those lines.”

Professor Gray pursed her lips together, “No, you’re not in trouble. Not that I am pleased with you being late to my class, of course. But I did want to chat with you. Even if you hadn’t arrived late, I still would have asked you to see me.”

“Okay, I see.” Isabelle slowly nodded, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

The professor took a long drink of tea, clearly sorting out how she wanted to phrase what she was about to say, “I wanted to talk about what The Daily Prophet printed today.”

Isabelle’s squared shoulders slumped and she cast her eyes downward, “Oh.”

“Isabelle, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to sound like I believed what they said.” Isabelle looked up hopefully, “People have little else to do but talk, and I wanted to assure  you that I’d always be here if you needed to talk to someone who believes that your parents didn’t attack that muggle-born.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Isabelle mustered a smile, “But, it really doesn’t matter, does it? This whole situation should blow over soon, right?”

Professor Gray hesitated, her tea cup pausing mid sip, “Of course. Either way, though, my offer still stands.”

“Thank you.” For the first time all day, Isabelle smiled brightly, “Is that all?”

“Yes, I do believe so. Now, go have fun at your party.” Professor Gray laughed at the  look of astonishment on Isabelle’s face, “We teachers aren’t totally clueless, you know. But, you should tell Miss Penhallow not to speak quite so loudly in Professor Carstair’s class.”

It was common knowledge that Professor Gray and Professor Carstair’s were close friends, and rumor had it that Professor Carstair was interested in the young Transfiguration teacher, so Isabelle was not surprised that he had told Professor Gray.

“I’ll let her know. Thank you again, Professor.” Isabelle left the room, feeling lighter than she had all day.

***

After dinner, Jace quickly returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, anxious to get out of his school robes and put on something a little nicer. Last year, at this very same party, he and Kaelie began their on-again off-again relationship. This year, he had no interest in flirting with any random girls. The only thing that was running through Jace’s mind was the question of if the intriguing Clary Fray would be attending the party.

Once he changed into a black button down, he headed back down the to main Common Room, not that he would ever admit it, but his heart may have skipped a beat when he saw Clary curled up on the over-stuffed armchair in front of the fire, drawing in a black book that he had seen her carrying around before. It was bizarre how he had never seen her before but was now seeing her everywhere he looked.

Walking around the chair, he plucked Clary’s book out of her hand, earning a gasp of protest from her. Before he was able to peek in it, she snatched it back, cheeks burning red. His thumb stung where a piece of paper had cut him in her desperate bid to snatch her book back. “Please tell me this is not how you’re going to spend your first night back at Hogwarts.”

She glared at him, the fire reflecting in her green eyes, “So what if I was?”

“I mean, it’s your choice. But why doodle when you can celebrate the start of a new school year?”

“First of all, it’s not doodling.” She grimaced just saying the word, “Secondly, it only sounds like a great option when you’ve been invited to said celebration.”

Jace hesitated. Though he had never heard Isabelle mention Clary, he didn’t want to invite Clary to a party if Isabelle hated the girl. “Do you want to go?”

Clary looked up, her eyes shining, “No, it’s fine. I wasn’t trying to make you feel like you had to invite me.” She looked perplexed.   
“Don’t be stupid,” Jace rolled his eyes, “I want you to come. It will be fun.” When Clary smiled, Jace knew he made the right decision.

Her smile dropped quickly, “Wait...can we invite Simon?”

“Who?”

“Simon Lewis. He’s a 5th year Hufflepuff and my best friend. He and I were supposed to hang out tonight, and I wouldn’t feel right about just cancelling our plans.”

Jace bit the inside of his cheek. He knew who Simon was; he had seen the two of them together throughout the day. In all honesty, he didn’t want to invite Simon. He knew he was being  selfish, only wanting Clary to come so he could get to know her, make her laugh and smile. He didn’t want to have to compete for her attention. However, he could tell that she wouldn’t go unless Simon came with. He sighed,wondering briefly why he found her loyalty attractive.  “Sure. The more the merrier.”

She grinned, promising she’d just be a second while she put away her book. As he waited for her to finish putting her things away, Jace wondered if he had done the right thing by inviting her and her friend. But when she finally appeared, all of his doubts disappeared. Clary looked radiant, having changed from her uniform to a simple gold dress.

“You look incredible,” He said, unable to take his eyes off her. Her dress nearly matched the brightness of her smile.

She beamed, cheeks turning pink, “Thanks. My mum bought me this dress ages ago and I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet.”

The walk to the Hufflepuff common room went by quickly, Jace was slowly getting to know the spirited girl better. When Clary introduced Simon to Jace, he immediately regretted his choice. He could tell that Simon fancied Clary and it was obvious that Simon did not like him. The two boys sized each other up while Clary explained Simon the new plans for the night. They made their way to the Slytherin’s dungeon Common Room an awkward silence only broken by Clary trying to coax the boys into talking to each other. It didn’t work.

As soon as they walked into the room, Jace sought out Isabelle. He wanted to tell her about the extra guests he brought before she saw them herself. However, the room was crowded, and he couldn’t see her tall figure, so he resorted to telling Aline, hoping she’d relay the message to Izzy.

“Oh, it’s no problem!” Aline chirped. Already, she was flushed from the excitement of hosting a party and the heat of the room, “I’m sure Isabelle won’t care. And if she does, I’ll deal with her. You go have fun.”

Clary alternate  between dancing with Jace and chatting to Simon, who had picked a  spot on the wall and stood there almost the entire night. Jace couldn’t help but smile; Simon’s position reminded him of Alec’s behavior at parties, the only Lightwood who seemed morally opposed to them.

As the night wore on, he learned more about Clary. That she was a muggleborn, or at least assumed she was, since she didn’t know her father. Her mother was an artist and had been a nervous when Clary first got her Hogwarts letter. He now knew that her strengths lay in Charms, but she was dreadful at Transfiguration. She had also been practicing her Seeking abilities this summer, ready to try out for the open spot on the team. She loved to draw and rambled when nervous. Jace found himself trying to make her blush as often as possible, enjoying the way her cheeks lit up and the way she stuttered as she tripped over her words.

When Clary decided that she was exhausted and needed to go to bed, the two parted ways. She insisted on walking Simon back to his dorm, so Jace headed back to the Gryffindor common room alone. For a good part of the night, Jace couldn’t sleep, his mind replaying how Clary looked while she dance,  carefree, happy and beautiful, and processing all the new facts that he had learned about her.

***

Simon woke up the next morning, wrapped in warmth, ears filled with the sound of his roommates’ steady breathing. It took him a minute to place why everyone was sleeping so late, as most of his friends were early risers. Then he remembered; today was Saturday. Yesterday was the first day back at school and the night of the Lightwood/Penhallow party.

He hadn’t planned on going. He and Clary were going to continue their annual tradition of staying up all night, finishing off the last of their muggle candies that they had brought from home and relaxing. But then, Jace Wayland of all people, had invited Clary to go to the party, and Clary had begged Simon to come with her.

Groaning, Simon rolled out of bed and pulled on a jumper and a pair of jeans. It was too early for him to think about last night, and he had another tradition that he needed to fulfill. He grabbed his school bag before climbing down the stairs to the Hufflepuff common room. For the past 4 years, he’d written to his mother after his first day, filling the letter with as many details as possible.

His mother has always been overprotective of Simon. Something about him being her only son and the youngest made her coddle him more than she did with Simon’s older sister, Rebecca. When he had gotten his Hogwarts acceptance letter, her protectiveness came out even more. She was a muggle, as was Rebecca, and had no idea what Simon would be getting himself into. To calm her fears, Simon promised that he’d write to her as soon as he got to the school and let her know everything about his first night there. Even though her fear of magic has diminished, Simon kept up with this tradition.

_Dear Mum,_

_Well, I made it. The train ride was, per usual, pretty uneventful. Clary and I just talked about what we think this year is going to be like. She sends her love, by the way._

_We only had one day of class before the weekend started. Already, teachers are piling on homework and stress. It’s because us 5th years have our O.W.L.s this year. You remember me talking about the O.W.L.s, right? They’re used to help place us into classes that are required for the jobs we want to take when we’re older. They basically decide our future. Even though it’s only been one day, our professors are putting a lot of pressure on us. They keep talking about how we have to do well on the tests. It’s making all of the 5th years nervous, and the test is 8 months away!_

_Aside from that, things seem pretty normal here. Send my love to Rebecca, and tell her I’ll be writing to her soon. I have to start some homework, so I think that’s all for now. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon._

_Love,_

_Simon_

He rolled up the parchment, and headed out of the common room and up the stairs towards the Owlery. He knew the muggleborn murder was something that his mother expected him to tell her about, but Simon couldn’t bring himself to writing about it. She would only be unnecessarily worried about him. Even if he told her a hundred times how safe Hogwarts was, she’d still worry. No, it was better to leave out that information. At least for now.

Arriving at the Owlery, he gave a start when he saw someone else was in the room. It was early on a Saturday and he hadn’t seen a soul on his walk up from the common room. At first, Simon didn’t recognize her. He was so used to seeing her dressed in the school uniform, or, when everyone went on Hogsmeade trips, looking stylish. However, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple white sweater. Even her long hair, that was usually down, was pulled in a messy bun.

Simon kept to himself, trying not to alert Isabelle that he was in the room. However, he stepped on a creaky board, which caused Isabelle to turn quickly around. After a moment, a slow smirk formed on her lips, “You know, girls don’t really like when guys stalk them.”

“What? I’m not stalking you?” Simon sputtered, his face turning red. The large open room suddenly felt very small as Isabelle Lightwood focused her full attention on him.

“I don’t know,” Her smirk had turned into a full smile, “I mean, there was after Transfiguration, the party yesterday, and now. Be careful. Clary might get jealous.”

“You were the one that wanted my help after Transfiguration!”

She shrugged, “Details. But, you were at the party last night. I haven’t seen you at one before, so something had to have changed.”

He scowled, not wanting to think about the party, “Yeah, that wasn’t my choice.”

Isabelle raised a brow, “Oh? So, Clary dragged you there? Or, did she say that she was going and you couldn’t stand the thought of her going without you?”

“Neither. She was invited and she asked me to go as well.”

“Ah,” Isabelle turned back to her owl,a pretty white bird with calculating orange eyes and  attached her letter to his leg, “Who invited her? Not that I mind; I just don’t remember telling her about it.”

“Jace Wayland.”

“What?” Isabelle whipped around and her owl hooted, annoyed at her sudden movement., “Jace invited her?” Simon nodded, “I didn’t even know they were friends. Hell, I didn’t even realize he knew who she was.” The owl flapped a wing out lazily, still voicing its annoyance.

“Nor did I,” Simon muttered, turning away to look for his own owl, a small barn owl named Rapheal.

“Don’t worry too much,” Isabelle reassured him, picking up on his bitter tone, “Clary isn’t really Jace’s type. You have nothing to worry about.”

Narrowing his eyes, he turned to look at her again and asked, “And what exactly is his type?”

“Don’t be like that. I didn’t say Jace was too good for her-”

“No, you insinuated it, though.”

 “I meant,” Isabelle cut him off, her eyes flashing, “That Jace usually goes for girls that are just in it for fun.The ones who really don’t care if they just have a fling. Clary seems like the girl who’d want a relationship for the long run. She and Jace, even if they were both interested in each other, probably wouldn’t work out.”

Simon said nothing, returning his attention towards the owls. He kept his attention away from Isabelle, until he heard her make her way out of the Owlery. He looked towards the window, watching her snowy owl fly further and further away, until he was left alone with only his thoughts.

***

Alec found himself in the library on what was probably the last gorgeous day of summer. Despite sitting with his back to the window, he could still feel the warmth of the sun crawling up his spine  and hear the excited voices from students that were lounging on the grounds. Isabelle had burst into his room this morning, demanding that he come down and spend the day relaxing with her by the Black Lake. Despite Isabelle’s insistence, he found himself in the library, pouring over a transfiguration book. Already he had been assigned a paper and there was no way he could write the paper in one day. He often wished he had Izzy’s natural gift for the subject, but he always been stronger in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“What on Earth are you doing in here, today of all days?” A voice drawled from in front of  him.

Alec whipped his head up and came face to face with Professor Bane. He was dressed down, his face almost bare of glitter, though he still had black kohl smudged around his eyes. He wore a plain black robe over a pair of jeans and a bright purple shirt that may have been a bit too tight to be 100% school appropriate.

Turning red, Alec mumbled, “Studying.”

“You’ve had one day of class,” Professor Bane deadpanned, waving a hand in the direction of the large pile of books Alec had stacked neatly beside him.

“I don’t want to fall behind.” Alec shrugged, though he looked unsure, “I know this is my most important year, and I don’t want to mess it up.”

His eyes softened slightly, “I see. But even with that sound reasoning, you’re still the only one in here.” Alec glanced around the library. He was used to the library always having students in it, studying for an exam, finding a book, or just escaping the chaos of their common room. However, Professor Bane was right. There was no one else in there today.

“You’re in here”

The older man scoffed, throwing the book he had been holding down on the table, “Not by choice. I have first years, first thing on Monday. I want to show them what books to look for when I give them their first assignment. Otherwise, I’m sure I’d hear the complaints of students who didn’t realize that our library have these books.” Alec smiled slightly, remembering the days when he was a scared first year. Some of his classmates had done exactly what Bane said.

“So,” Professor Bane said, plopping down into the seat across from Alec. He flicked his robes out of the way as he sat, turning his bright eyes directly on the younger, and now flustered, boy, “What do you want to go on to do next year?”

Alec sputtered, not expecting his handsome new teacher to ask him about his future, let alone sit down across from him as though they were close friends, “What are you doing?”

Magnus raised an eyebrow at Alec,somehow looking amused and condescending at the same time. “Sitting with you. On my good conscious, I cannot let you sit in an empty library, alone. That sounds dreadful. Anyway, answer the question.”

Alec sighed, “An auror.”

“Ah, I see. Just like your parents?”

“Do you know them? I mean, did you go to school with them?” Alec grasped at straws for some words to keep the conversation going.

Professor Bane gave him an affronted look, “How old do you think I am? No, I did not go to school with them. And, even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have been that close with them. Different house, different beliefs.”

Alec knew that he was referring to his parents role in the Uprising, but he was curious about something else, “What house were you in?”

A smile played around his lips, “Ravenclaw. Though, the Sorting Hat had a difficult time placing me.”

“Where else did the Sorting Hat want to put you?” Alec’s desire to get to know Professor Bane grew as they continued to talk, and he couldn’t help but keep asking questions.

“The Sorting Hat thought I’d do okay in the other houses, but the main one that he was contemplating was Slytherin. He ultimately chose Ravenclaw. I also wasn’t too keen on being put on Slytherin. I was in Hogwarts after the Uprising, mind you, I knew how most Slytherins felt about people who weren’t pure blood. How some still do.”

Alec looked down at his book, refusing to meet Bane’s steady gaze. The professor pursed his lips, “You know that I don’t think your parents are guilty, right?”

Alec looked up, fire blazing in his bright blue eyes, “Why? Everyone else seems to think so. I hear everyone talking in the corridors, whispering about the Lightwoods, and how Isabelle and I are probably just as bad. Yesterday, even Professor Lovelace was treating me like she thought my parents were guilty. Like I should be ashamed of my family.”

Professor Bane sighed and rubbed his face, “As I said, I know your parents. Maybe not through school, but I know them. They may have previously been in the Uprising, but they wouldn’t just attack muggleborns now. As for the students? Ignore them.” He brushed the air aside to demonstrate his point, “They know nothing. They just like to talk. Most of the teachers here don’t believe that the Lightwoods killed that woman. Professor Lovelace...well...she’s an exception. But, almost every other teacher doesn’t think so. As long as you know your parents aren’t guilty, everyone else doesn’t matter.”

Alec bit back his response, that of course what other people thought of his parents mattered. Instead, he reluctantly nodded his head.

“Good,” Bane grabbed his book and stood up, “Now, I have to go check this out. Professor Gray wanted to chat with me and I’m sure she’s starting to wonder where I am. So, if you’ll excuse me,” He gracefully began to walk away, before turning back and adding, “And, Alec...do try to get outside and enjoy the fresh air today.”

After Professor Bane left, Alec stared at his book for a while, the words he read refusing to be comprehended in his brain. Packing up his book, parchment and quills, Alec left the library, heading out to enjoy the beautiful day.

***

Jace woke up alone in his dorm, sunlight streaming through the windows. Glancing at his watch, he was shocked to see that it was past noon already. For as long as he could remember, Jace had always woken up early- earlier than Alec, Isabelle and sometimes even his adoptive parents. Running a hand through his messy blonde hair, he thought back to the night before.

Stretching, Jace wondered if he’d be able to see Clary today and talk to her. Hopefully, without Simon around to glare daggers at him or distract her. He bounded out of bed, changed quickly and hurried down the stairs. Scanning the common room, he felt a pang of disappointment when he didn’t see the small red-head. He decided to take a walk outside and clear his head. And, maybe along the walk, he would keep an eye out for Clary. Maybe.

The corridors were strangely empty and quiet. Everyone was either outside or sleeping away the afternoon. Wandering outside, he blinked in the bright light, before smiling broadly. Students were milling about- some relaxing under the shade of the tree, others swimming in the Black Lake. The air was warm, reminiscent of summer. Spotting a dark haired figure sitting under a tree, he made his way towards it, recognizing the shape.

“Hey Izzy. Didn’t see you much last night.” Jace sat himself down next to his sister, leaning back against the tree. If he ignored all the other students, he could almost pretend that this was just another summer afternoon in Idris.

“Yeah, I got there late. I had detention.” Ignoring the look Jace gave her, she continued, “But, I heard that you were there with Clary Fray?”

“Who’d you hear that from?”

“Are you denying it?”

Jace sighed irritably, “No, I was there with Clary. I’m just curious to see who’s already gossiping about it.”

Isabelle giggled, “Simon Lewis told me.”

“You’re friends with him?” Jace’s eyebrows rose.

“I wouldn’t say we’re friends. But, I ran into him this morning in the Owlery and he told me that the three of you went to the party. Sounds like a fun group.” She teased.

“Were you sending a letter to Mum and Dad?”

Isabelle’s smile slipped off her face, “Yeah, I was. I want to see how they’re holding up.”

“You know the Prophet was wrong, right?”

“Of course I know!” Isabelle snapped. She let out a breath, slumping back on the tree, “I know. I’m just worried. Their jobs could be at risk and they’ve worked so hard to get rid of the reputation from the Uprising. It’s just crazy to think that they might lose it all again because of a stupid lie.”

Jace put his arm around Isabelle, letting her lean into him, “I know, Izzy. But, they’re strong, and so are we. We’re Lightwoods after all. Mum and Dad will be fighting to keep their jobs and reputation. The truth will come out in the end. As for us? You, me, and Alec are going to be okay. Max might not be here right now but we’re always going to be there for him. We have each other. We don’t need anyone else. We just have to ignore what everyone thinks.” The siblings sat against the tree, drawing support from each other, and watching the other students enjoy their Saturday.

***

“Nice nap, Iz?”

Isabelle blinked up at Alec, his face shaded by the sun. Sitting up, she rolled her neck a few times to try to get rid the pain in her neck from leaning on Jace, who was still dozing off. “It’s not my fault. The sun is just so warm and Jace’s shoulder was comfortable. Though, I am regretting using him as a pillow.” Alec chucked, taking a seat next to Isabelle. “How was the library?”

“Good. I got the book that I needed and was able to get a jump start on my essay.” Alec hesitated, which did not go unnoticed by Isabelle.

“And?”

Alec ran a hand through his hair, “And, I ran into Professor Bane in the library.”

Isabelle raised her eyebrows. Normally, Alec wouldn’t get worked up about seeing a professor in the library. She remembered the distant look that he got when she had asked about the new Potions professor, “What’s the problem?”

Alec glanced at Jace, whose head was lolled back against the tree, still sleeping. When he glanced back at her his bright blue eyes were filled with pain. “Izzy...he’s handsome.”

If this had been anyone else, Isabelle would have giggled and told them to just deal with it. However, this was her brother and she was the only one who knew about his sexuality. She had been his sole confidant for the last 5 years. Questions were teeming in her mind, but she knew that Alec wouldn’t respond well to an onslaught on questions. “How attractive? Like, Professor Herondale hot?”

Alec sighed, rubbing a hand across his face, “It’s different. Professor Herondale always looks a little unkempt, like he’s just gotten out of a fight or something. Professor Bane is so put together.”

“Well, I’ll just have to see., won’t I? I have him before lunch on Monday, so I’ll get back to you.” Alec gave a small chuckle but said nothing else. Deciding to push her luck, Isabelle tentatively asked, “Isn’t it kind of a good thing?”

“How would this be a good thing?”

She glanced at her other brother, “I mean, it means you're getting over him. Or, at least starting to think about over people.” She didn’t miss how Alec tensed up, his face void of any emotion.

“Isabelle. He’s a professor. It’s no better than _him_.”

“No, I think it is,” Isabelle pressed on, “You’ve felt guilty for liking him for years, Alec. Maybe Professor Bane can help you get over him. It’s natural for students to like teachers. It’s not ever going to develop into anything more than a crush or infatuation. It’s a way for you to realize there are other people aside from Jace that you could be attracted to.”

  
Alec frantically looked at Jace, rounding on Isabelle when he realized that he still hadn’t woken up, “I’m not the same as you or most people, Izzy.”

“You need to stop beating yourself because of who you are.” Isabelle said quietly. She knew how stubborn Alec was and how pointless it would be get into a full argument with him.

He shook his head angrily, “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later,” Alec stood, avoiding Isabelle’s gaze. She followed him with her eyes as he walked back to the castle, his head bent towards the ground.

Isabelle leaned over and poked Jace, “Get up, lazy. I’m sure you have better things to do than sleep on the ground.”

“Mm,” Jace groaned, blinking blearily up at her, “On the contrary, I don’t know if I do.”

Laughing, Isabelle said, “Why don’t you tell me why you invited Clary?”

“Was it a problem? You keep bringing it up.” Jace asked, bristling. He didn’t look sleepy anymore and his voice was verging on angry.

“No, I just didn’t know you knew her.”

“Okay, so I just met her...it’s not a big deal.”

Isabelle regarded him, taking in the defensive tone. Usually, Jace was so casual when he talked about girls. She wondered if she was wrong when she told Simon that Clary and Jace would never work. Clary was obviously different; already she was affecting him more than any girl had ever before.

“Okay, Jace. Whatever you say.”


	4. Chapter 4

When Monday morning rolled around, Isabelle made sure to wake up with plenty of time to get ready. While she was pretty sure that her body had finally adjusted to waking up earlier, she didn’t want to have another teacher yell at her for being late.

Aline, on a bed across the room, rolled off her mattress as Isabelle finished tying her House tie. Grinning, she said, “Actually going to be on time for class today, Iz?”

“Of course. I’m a model student,”

Aline snorted but followed Isabelle into the adjoining bathroom without another comment. Isabelle plaited her hair in the mirror in content silence as Aline fixed her own hair and brushed her teeth.

“I hope you know that you can always talk to me.” Aline suddenly blurted out, her eyes trained on Isabelle’s reflection in the mirror.

“What do you mean?” Isabelle turned towards Aline, who was now steadily gazing at her own reflection in the mirror.

“Well, I’m not an idiot. I read the papers.” Aline was turning red as she spoke, “I saw what _The Prophet_ wrote about your family. And I just wanted to clarify that if you ever needed someone to talk to, you have me. To talk to or vent to or whatever. I’m always here for you.”

Isabelle and Aline had been friends since they were very young. The Lightwoods and Penhallows were close friends, so the girls grew up together. People in Idris used to joke that they were twins separated at birth. And though Isabelle planned on not talking about the accusations to anyone outside of the immediate family until they died down, it touched her that Aline offered.

Isabelle smiled, “I know. But thank you. Really.” Aline met her eyes in the mirror and returned the smile, “I’ll be waiting for you in the common room so you can change into your robes, okay?”

Isabelle made her way into the common room and waited. With vague disinterest, she watched her housemates that walked down from the dormitory and left for breakfast, giggling with their friends. She knew that some of the Slytherins were slightly wary of her. Even though their parents may have once been in the Circle, Isabelle’s were the ones who might still be committing horrible acts of violence. The Slytherins were still being nice to her, but Isabelle knew that it was only a matter of time before they turned on her too. That is, if the investigation wasn’t ended soon.

“Ready to go?” Aline appeared in front of Isabelle, dressed in her school robes.

“Ready,” Isabelle smiled and the girls made their way to the Great Hall, chatting about their classes. When they arrived in the Great Hall, they sat next to Alec, who was lost in his own mind, his eyes focused on an empty chair at the tall table in the front of the Great Hall. Aline gave Isabelle a questioning look, but she began to pile toast on her plate to avoid Aline’s gaze.

“So, Alec,” Isabelle called, getting his attention. He blinked as though he just woken up, “What class do you have first today?”  
“History,” He said, wrinkling his nose, “And what class do you have? Must be something good because you’re actually here on time.”  
Isabelle rolled her eyes but Aline jumped in, “We have Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“Aha!” Triumph blazed in his eyes, “You want to impress Professor Herondale!”

“What? I do not!”

“Weren’t you telling me yesterday how attractive you think he is?” Aline smirked as Isabelle sputtered.

“Traitor!” The illusion of anger dissipated as Isabelle burst into giggles, Aline and Alec quickly following suit. Isabelle wiped at her eyes before saying, “No, I figured that having one day of being late is enough. I can’t have teachers think I’m going to be a troublemaker this year.”

“Yet,” Alec muttered as Aline snorted but wisely kept her thoughts to herself..

Taking a bite of toast, Isabelle rolled her eyes but refused to comment. So, she didn’t have the perfect track record when it came to good behavior, but that didn’t mean she was a troublemaker. It just meant that she knew how to have fun.

Before Isabelle could rejoin Alec and Aline’s conversation, something about an upcoming Camille Belcourt concert next summer, she noticed her snowy owl flying towards her. The large bird dropped a letter neatly onto Isabelle’s crumb-filled plate before flying off to the Owlery, one its wings brushing the top of Isabelle’s head. Hastily, Isabelle unrolled the parchment and read;

_“Dear Isabelle,_

_Thank you for your letter. Your father and I are sorry that you had to find out about the accusations through_  The Prophet. _However, it happened far too quickly for us to warn you or your brothers._

_Yes, the Ministry is taking actions against us. They’re doing a full scale investigation, which includes being able to burst into our house and search it at any given moment. They’ve suspended our Auror license for the time being. The people of Idris have turned against us as well; anytime we go out, we’re met with glares, whispers, and there have been people who have the audacity to come up to us and be rude. Max, as it is, has been taken out to school for his own good. With our pasts being brought back up and tensions clearly growing, your father and I decided it would be best for him to be away from children who may attempt to bully or harm him._

_I do apologize to you, Jace, and Alec. Unlike Max, we can’t take you out of school because your classmates are cruel. I know some teachers will probably be much colder to you as well. However, you have to keep your head up and try not to let them get to you. You’re a Lightwood, Isabelle. You will be able to overcome this, just as your father and I will._

_We’ll keep you updated on anything new. Continue to be strong even if people try to tear you apart. Send our love to your brothers._

_Love, Mum”_

“Who’s the letter from?” Alec wondered, taking a bite of scrambled eggs.

“Mum,” Isabelle passed the letter to him. Alec’s blue eyes widened as he read the letter, then narrowed as he handed it back to her. He put his fork down and pushed his plate away with a quick, sharp movement.

“When did you write to them?  
“Saturday morning.”

Alec shook his head with disgust, “I can’t believe they suspended them from their jobs! Nothing has been proven yet.”

Isabelle let out a frustrated sigh, “I know. And as much as I’d love to trash talk the Ministry and their treatment of our parents, Aline and I have Defense Against the Dark Arts to get to. We’ll talk later.” She promised.Her stomach churned at the thought of her parents and brother trapped in their own home.

As Aline and Isabelle made their way down the corridor, Isabelle handed Aline the letter. Aline furrowed her brow as she got further along with the letter, “How can they strip your parents of their license? It’s not like they’ve been convicted of anything!”

A bitter laugh escaped from Isabelle’s lips, “I guess all they need is something that could possibly point to my parents to cause them to take drastic measures. It’s insane.”

“I’m sorry, Iz. I’m sure they’ll be back on the field soon enough. It’s not like the Ministry can keep them out forever.They’re some of the best aurors we have.”

“I hope not,” Isabelle said as she pushed the doors open to the classroom. Her mood lifted when she saw Professor Herondale standing at the front of the class, gazing at his students. Despite all the teasing Aline and Alec gave her, she did think that Professor Herondale was quite attractive. With his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, most girls at Hogwarts found themselves looking forward to their classes with him. However, as handsome as Isabelle thought he was, she could only appreciate it so much. He had the same coloring as Alec, making Isabelle feel uncomfortable every time she found herself thinking of the professor for too long.

“Alright, class.” Professor Herondale said as the last students found their seats, “Welcome to 5th year Defense Against the Dark Arts. I’m sure you’ve heard the lecture of how difficult this year needs to be, so I’m going to skip that.” A murmur of appreciation ran through the class and Professor Herondale’s eyes twinkled, “We’re going straight into our first lesson.”

Isabelle and Aline grinned at each other. Both of the girls were relatively good at performing defensive spells, and after a long summer of not being able to use magic, they were more than ready to learn.

“We’re going to be learning the inflating jinx. Now, in an actual fight, you would be able to direct this curse at someone, causing them to inflate. It will slow them down, and if your curse is powerful enough, it can cause them to float away.

“For the sake of our safety, we’re going to be practicing on inanimate objects, starting with smaller trinkets, then working our way up. To cast your jinx, you flick your wand in an upward motion,” He flicked his wrist up, “And say, _Inflatus_. The trick is trying to imagine the objects growing larger and lighter. Now, let me see the hand motions.” He watched his class repeat the motions until he felt as though they were able to perform the spell.

He pulled out his wand and flicked his wrist, small baubles appearing on the desks of every student. “These are what you’ll be trying to inflate. It’ll take time, so don’t be discouraged if your object doesn’t change shape at first.”

Isabelle pulled out her wand and turned excitedly towards her bauble. In front of her sat a small plastic snitch, the kind her father used to bewitch for her to play with when she was younger. Focusing all her attention on the snitch, she flicked her wrist and murmured, “Inflatus.” The snitch didn’t even twitch. She glanced around- everyone seemed to be intently focused on their objects. Professor Herondale wandered about the classroom, offering suggestions to his students. Isabelle turned back to the ball and muttered the spell again. It slightly moved. Just as Isabelle was about to try a third time, the door bust open.

“Tessa?” An unreadable look came over Professor Herondale’s face as he took in Professor Grey. Her hair, normally pinned back, was loose and falling in her face. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes wild. She scanned the room, before pushing brown curls out of her face.

“I need to speak with Miss Lightwood.”

Isabelle willed her face not to turn red. This was the second time Professor Gray singled her out in class, and she was sure that it was all her classmates would be able to talk about after she left.

As she stood up, Professor Gray added, “You will want to bring your bag and books.” Isabelle quickly grabbed her bag, refusing to meet the eye of any other students. She followed Professor Gray into the hallway and tried to keep up with her fast pace.

“Am I in trouble?” Isabelle noticed that they were headed towards Headmaster Branwell’s office.

“No, not quite.” Professor Gray suddenly stopped and turned towards Isabelle, “Minister Herondale is here to see you.”

The Minister was Professor Herondale’s aunt, though most people would never guess it. Despite the professor’s sarcasm and dark humor, he obviously cared for his students and seemed genuinely concerned about any problems they might have. Minister Herondale, however, ruled with an iron fist. Since she was in office, the laws have become more strict, punishments more cruel. It was said that she once had more of the humor and love that Professor Herondale had, but when her son died fighting Valentine, she hardened into a shell of who she use to be.

“I don’t suppose she wants to talk to Professor Herondale, does she?” Isabelle asked in a quiet voice.

“No,” Professor Gray sighed, “She wants to question you about your parents involvements in the murder of Karen Jaeil.”

Though Isabelle paled, a wave of rage rose through her, “Did she really come all the way here to question me about my parents?”

“I’m afraid so,” Professor Grey sighed, “She has already talked to your brothers. It seems as though the charges are more serious than we originally thought.”

Isabelle scowled, but allowed Professor Gray to lead her the rest of the way to Headmistress Branwell’s office. Isabelle wasn’t a stranger to the Headmistress’s office. On occasion, a prank that she and Jace coordinated would go astray, resulting in a stern conversation with Branwell. However, Isabelle’s stomach filled with dread as Professor Gray knocked on the door of the office. This wasn’t just being talked to about a prank; this was an interrogation by the Minister.

“Come in,” A cool voice called out, a stark contrast from Headmistress Branwell’s warm and familiar one.

Professor Grey glanced at Isabelle, who took a deep breath and nodded. The professor  pushed open the doors and the two stepped inside. Standing in the center of the room was a tall, pale woman. A scowl was etched onto her face and her eyes narrowed as they landed on Isabelle.

“Isabelle,” Headmistress Branwell stepped forward. Her small frame looked even smaller as the Minister loomed over her, “This is Minister Herondale.”

Isabelle smiled pleasantly, “What brings you to Hogwarts, Minister?”  
“I thought it was time that you and I had a little chat,” Her face remained impassive as she spoke, “About the recent attacks on muggle-borns.”

Despite herself, Isabelle protested, “It was one attack!”

“Indeed,” The Minister cooly replied, eyebrows raising, “Yet, there were serious allegations made against your parents. And given their former history, it’s my responsibility to ensure that these allegations are checked out.”

Isabelle saw Professor Grey and Headmistress Branwell shaking their heads at her. She bit back her response. Fighting with the Minister wouldn’t help her parents. Now was not the time to lose her temper.

She sighed, “What do you want to know?”

The Minister waved her wand and a chair appeared behind Isabelle. Sitting down reluctantly, Isabelle looked up into the smirking face of Minister Herondale. “Do you know what your parents plans were the night of the murder?”

“I mean, I obviously wasn’t there but I can assume they were with Max.That was the first night back at Hogwarts. But, they usually take Max out for a nice dinner since he’s always upset that we’re at Hogwarts and he’s not.”

“So, for all you know, they could have gone out into Karen Jaeil’s village?”

“Max would have been home alone, and Mum and Dad never leave him home alone.”

The Minister’s grey eyes narrowed, “Could they have found someone to watch him?”

“I doubt it. Max looks forward to this dinner all year, and they wouldn’t take it away from him.”

The Minister huffed, realizing she was getting nowhere with that tactic. Isabelle’s lips twitched, wanting to smirk. “Have your parents mentioned anyone suspicious lately? Any strange visitors you didn’t recognize? Anyone from the former Circle?”

  
Isabelle thought about this. Her parents, when not travelling for work, constantly had people, so it wasn’t a far fetched question. While they often mentioned people that Isabelle had never met, no unusual names had been mentioned recently. As for anyone from the Circle, her parents made a point to not communicate with anyone from that period in their life. After the war ended and they were given a pardon, Maryse and Robert cut off all ties to their former friends.

"No, no one I can think of."

The Minister's face contorted, "You just don't want to believe that they had anything to do with the murder, do you?"

Though she found the whole thing a little ridiculous, she had been compliant. She couldn’t help the anger that began spilling out of her, " _Excuse me_? No. I don't think my parents are responsible. They gave up that life when they were offered jobs as Aurors. Not once have they given you any reason to believe that they are guilty, aside from an article from _T_ _he Prophet_. Unless the ministry is basing their investigations off whatever trash any reporter writes you have nothing but proof of their dedication to their jobs to see.They’ve been the best Aurors that you’ve had in years and you know it! I haven’t been lying to you and just because I’m not giving you the answers you wanted to hear doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I think this whole interrogation is pointless when you have a murderer to look for. And guess what. That murderer is not a member of family.”

Minister Herondale’s face turned purple and her hands began to shake. Despite this, Isabelle kept her chin raised and gaze leveled. The Minister opened her mouth angrily, but Headmistress Branwell hastily jumped in, “If that’s all the questions you have, Imogen, I think it’d be best if Isabelle gets back to class. She already missed a majority of her last class and the start of her current class. We don’t want her falling behind in school already.”

“Of course,” The Minister said tersely, “I do believe that’ll be all. For now.”

Professor Gray stepped forward and guided Isabelle out of the office, with one hand gripping the younger girls bicep. They two walked down the empty corridors in silence, Professor Gray waiting for Isabelle to cool down.

After a few minutes, Isabelle sighed, “I just made things worse, didn’t I?”

“Unfortunately, you have. The Minister doesn’t like people to talk back to her.”

“I was right, though, wasn’t I?” Isabelle looked at Professor Gray, “What I said about my parents was true. I couldn’t stand there and just let her talk about them like that.”

Professor Gray stared ahead, refusing to meet Isabelle’s eyes. “What’s your next class?”

“Muggle Studies with Professor Lovelace.”

“She’s not going to be pleased that you’re late. I’ll walk you to there.”

“Don’t you have a class right now?”

“I do,” Professor Grey smiled,  “But I think the third years can wait. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

  
“Of course.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate all this, but why are you being so kind to me? I mean, I know that you don’t believe that Mum and Dad killed that woman, but you didn’t have to stay throughout the questioning and miss your next class.”

“I didn’t.” Professor Gray agreed, finally looking at Isabelle, “But, I know that Minister Herondale can be...a bit much. I didn’t want you to go into that alone. I don’t want you to think that you have to face this alone. Understand that I want to help and if you ever need to talk, I’ll always be available to listen. There are several other teachers that feel the same.” She gave Isabelle a small smile, “But, as one of my best students, I thought you may feel more comfortable talking to me.”

Isabelle blinked, taken aback by how sincere her professor seemed, “Thank you. Really. I will be sure to come talk to you, if I need to. But, you’re acting as though this won’t just blow over.” Isabelle had said the last sentence in a joking manner, but worry crept into her body when she saw Professor Grey’s lips purse together and the color drain from her face. “Professor?”

“Isabelle,” The two had made it to Isabelle’s classroom, but neither moved to enter, “This was supposed to stay quiet until there was further evidence and a full investigation was performed. But, there’s been another death. And,” She added as Isabelle opened her mouth, “The body was found in the exact condition that the first body was in.”

Isabelle’s dark eyes widened, a shaky hand covered her mouth. “And they still think that my parents killed this person?”

“They had the ‘L’ cut into their wrists.”

“But...but...my parents have been at home. With Max. They just wrote to me. They wouldn’t.”

“Isabelle” Professor Grey put a hand on the panicking girl’s shoulder, “I know. But, to the Ministry and the Aurors, your parents have been locked in their house. They could have easily apparated into the victim’s village. The investigation, unfortunately, is far from over.”

***

Jace was not having a good Monday. Like Isabelle, his talk with the Minister had not gone very well. She had taken an immediate dislike to his sarcastic answers, disdain worn clearly on her face as she interrogated him. After 10 tense minutes, he had ended up storming out of the office in a fit of anger, making sure to slam the door hard behind him on his way out. Then, Jace made the mistake of going to History of Magic. He wasn’t paying attention to the lecture, as he was too busy worrying about his adoptive parents, so when Professor Starkweather asked him a simple question about the Goblin Wars, Jace was unable to answer it. The snickers of his classmates and Starkweather’s disappointed face worsened Jace’s already dark mood.

As he made his way up the Astronomy tower, he decided that he needed to have a meeting with Alec and Isabelle after his classes. Jace, caught up in his thoughts, didn’t see the small body walking his way and crashed into her, spilling both of their books and quills on the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” A familiar voice exclaimed, as the girl began bent down to retrieve her books.

A slow smirk settled on his face, “Ah, Clary. I know I’m incredibly attractive but there are other ways to get my attention than running into me.”

Clary looked up, red curls falling in front of her face. Her cheeks grew pink but she replied steadily, “Please. I wasn’t distracted by you. Simon was in the middle of telling me an incredibly interesting story.” Simon gave Jace a smug smirk.

“Though I’m sure your conversation was _riveting_ , it can’t nearly be as captivating as I am.” Jace’s words, which normally would have been taken in a joking manner, came off much sharper than he intended. He grimaced when Clary raised her brows, quickly picking up the rest of her books.

“See you around,” She said with a tight smile, before brushing past him.

“Wait,” Jace grabbed her arm before she was out of reach, swinging her back around to face him. He ignored Simon scowling at him, “Look, that came out worse than I meant it to. I’m just...” He raked his fingers through his hair as he thought about his morning, “It’s just been a rough morning.”

Clary’s eyes softened, “I’m sorry about your day. But someone as _captivating_ as yourself should know better than to take their bad day out on other people, especially my best friend.” She gently tugged her arm out of Jace’s grasp, “Now, excuse me, I have to get to Potions.”

“Who do you have Potions with?”

Clary crinkled her nose at the question but answered, “The Slytherins. Why?”

He ignored her question and answered with his own, “So, Isabelle is in your class?”

“Yes.”

“Will you please tell her that I need to talk with her at lunch?”

If she found anything strange about the request, she didn’t say anything. Maybe it was the pleading tone Jace’s voice had taken on.Either way, Clary simply nodded before turning back to walk with Simon, who shot Jace another glare over his shoulder.

With a sigh, Jace turned and trudged to his Astronomy class. On a good day, Jace would be interested and engaged in what Professor Gladstone had to say. Today was not that day. For the hour and a half of class, his mind wandered, and he alternated from staring out the window and doodling on a piece of parchment paper. He was too distracted to notice the worried looks that Professor Gladstone continuously shot him throughout the class. Once class ended, Jace rushed out the room, eager to meet with his siblings for lunch.

Jace walked quickly in the corridors, brushing past the younger students and some of his friends who tried to talk to him. He paused in the doors of the Great Hall, scanning the Slytherin table for either Alec or Isabelle. He sighed with relief upon seeing Isabelle sitting near the end of the table, away from her housemates. Though it wasn’t a formal rule, students almost never sat at any other table aside from their own house’s. Walking over to Isabelle, Jace decided he didn’t give a damn if the other students whispered about it. He needed to speak with his family and he wouldn’t let anything get in the way of that.

“Well that was a shit morning,” Isabelle stated as Jace plopped down across from her, “And did you really have to use Clary as a messenger? I don’t think you’re going to get in her good graces that way. Girls don’t enjoy being used owls.”

Jace ignored the last sentence “It seemed like the best way to get the message across. And you’re telling me.” The two sat in silence, waiting for Alec to show up. After a few minutes, Alec walked into the Great Hall, gave the pair a questioning look, but sat next to Isabelle.

“Are we having a family meeting?” Alec asked, grabbing a handful of grapes from the nearest bowl.

“No, we’re braiding each other's hair and gossiping about boys,” Isabelle deadpanned. She paused, biting her lip, “Please tell me that your talks with the Minister went better than mine.”

Alec’s eyes widened, “Mine went fine. Isabelle, what happened in yours?”

She cast a desperate glance to Jace. He shook his head, “Hey, don’t look at me, Iz. Minister Herondale and I didn’t exactly end of on a pleasant note.”

“What did you two do?” Alec groaned, ignoring the plates of food in front of him to give his siblings an incredulous look.

Isabelle looked sheepish, but Jace could still see a glimmer of pride in her eyes, “I may have told her off for accusing our parents.”

Jace smirked. Good. The Minister had been in dire need of someone letting her know how presumptuous she sounded. “Isabelle, you didn’t.” Alec’s face had paled, “She’s the Minister.”

“I don’t care,” Suddenly, the sheepish look was gone as she lifted her chin, dark eyes flashing, “She had no right to have that type of attitude, and I don’t care if she is the Minister or just a shopkeeper. I’m not letting her try to pin the murders on Mum and Dad.”

Alec rounded on Jace, “And what did you do?”

“The Minister didn’t like my tone. I didn’t like hers.” He scowled, “I ended up storming out in the middle of the questioning. The whole thing was bullshit.”

Isabelle grinned, “So that’s why she was so pissy when I went in. Good for you, Jace.”

Alec put his head in his hands, he was pretty sure his siblings were put on this earth to test his patience. “Guys, this isn’t good. She could take it out on Mum and Dad or try to somehow interfere with the investigation.” He looked up, a small spark of hope shining in his light eyes, “At least this will all be over soon.”

As Jace began to nod, he noticed that Isabelle had suddenly become quite interested in rearranging her peas. “Isabelle, what do you know?”

She looked up, pale and nervous. She _hmm-ed_ and _hah-ed_ for a few minutes before blurting out, “The investigation might not be as close to being over as we think.”

“What do you mean?” Alec asked.

“Professor Gray told me that there was another body found.” Her words were rushed, “His name is Henry Monte. He was a half-blood, killed in the same manner that Karen was. Stabbed with an ‘L’ carved into his wrist. Apparently, it just happened and _The Prophet_ hasn’t broke the story yet. Professor Gray told me so that we wouldn’t be caught off guard when it was reported”

Dread ran through Jace. Another body? The dread was replaced by disgust as he thought about the way the victims were being killed. Valentine and his Circle had refused to use spells to kill their victims. He believed that the non-pure were undeserving of their magic and should die like common muggles. The fact that the murderer was using the exact method that his parents had used worried Jace more than he let on. Though it was common knowledge that each member of the Circle left some little mark on their victim, the public was never told how the members killed their victims. Each family had a certain method, from stabbing like the Lightwoods, to strangulation. The murderer clearly knew something that had been kept secret, trying to make Mum and Dad look suspicious.

“But,” Alec was saying when Jace rejoined the conversation, “They told you that they were staying inside the house.”

Isabelle scoffed and rolled her eyes, “The Minister hasn’t seen head or tail of them. Our house isn’t on lock-down yet, so they could still apparate out. She thinks one, or both of them apparated to Henry Monte’s village and killed him.”

Jace felt like his head was swimming, “So what are they going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Isabelle shrugged, “Professor Gray only knows so much.” The three of them sat in dismayed silence, the happy chatter of students washing over them.

Alec cleared his throat, “Do you know when Monte’s death will be reported?”

Isabelle shook her head, “No. It could be tomorrow or in a week. I’d think they’d write about it sooner rather than later, though.”

“We need to stick together,” Jace leaned towards his siblings.

“He’s right,” Isabelle glanced around the Hall, “After the last article, the news spread like wildfire. I think we’ve all experienced how everyone reacted after the first article. People are only going to get worse after the second report.”

Jace rubbed his face. The gossip didn’t bother him that much; he knew that his parents weren’t guilty. But knowing that there was already a second murder, he could tell that this wasn’t just going to blow over. Isabelle perked up slightly, “We’ll get through this. We’re Lightwoods. We can get through this.” The three looked at each other, hesitant smiles growing on their faces, feeling a tad more confident about the upcoming year. They began to eat the food on their plates, resuming a conversation that didn’t involve their parents and they could almost pretend that it nothing was wrong. Almost.

***

Simon spent the most of the day looking for Isabelle in between classes. He couldn't help himself. After Isabelle was abruptly taken out of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class and didn’t return, Simon was worried that something else had happened with her parents.

"Looking for someone?" Clary teased on their way to dinner. She noticed how Simon swiveled his head as they walked, trying to look into the faces of everyone they passed.

"Am I that obvious?"

Clary had to choke back a laugh. Only Simon would be that oblivious to himself. "Yeah, a bit. Who are you looking for?". Simon turned red and rubbed the back of his head. Simon didn't see Clary raise her eyebrows as he sheepishly looked at the ground. "Simon! Who is it?"

He looked up, "Isabelle Lightwood."

Clary tried not to gape at him. Despite her talk with the girl, Isabelle's friends ran in completely different circles from hers and Simon's. On top of that, she had never heard Simon actually talk about her. Clary had to wonder if Isabelle even knew who Simon was. "I...see? Why are you searching for her?"

He scowled at the ground, "It doesn't matter."

"No, I'm sorry. I  just didn't know you two were friends."

Simon scrunched up his face, “I don’t know if I’d call us friends, Clary.”

"Okay, then why do you need to see her?"

"I just need to talk to her."

"About?" Clary couldn't help herself. Since she was a child, Clary’s curiosity had always gotten the best of her. Her “besetting sin” her mother had always called it. And now with Simon keeping secrets about being friends with Isabelle Lightwood, her curiosity was insatiable.

"It doesn't matter," Simon reiterated, returning his gaze to the faces of students heading towards dinner. He couldn't explain why he didn't want to tell Clary about Isabelle being pulled out of class. After all, Clary was the one who tried to warn her about the article in the papers. But, something about this felt different. Clary wasn't in the room when it happened and this felt personal. If he were Isabelle, he didn’t think he would want more people knowing about the incident than those who already knew. Even if Simon told Clary, she'd probably brush it off and tell him to stop worrying, it's not his problem. But Simon wanted to hear that from Isabelle, to make sure she was okay. Clary narrowed her green eyes but said nothing. The two walked into the Great Hall in a cool silence.

"There she is," Clary flatly said, pointing to the Slytherin table. And there Isabelle was. She was sitting next to Aline and a few other girls, laughing and seeming genuinely happy. Simon let out a relieved breath and turned to thank Clary, but she was already stalking away from him. One of her hands was curled in a fist on the strap of her bag.

Great. Now he managed to piss off his best friend. At least he could focus on dinner rather than continue to search for . Though, he tried to talk with his friends and focus on the conversation, his eyes and mind kept drifting back to Isabelle. She seemed fine, but he had seen the reaction she had after _The Prophet_ incident, how upset she had gotten. Though Simon didn’t fully understand it, he felt compelled to check on her. Throughout dinner, he kept one eye on her, wanting to try and catch her before she disappeared in her Common Room for the night. When Isabelle and one of her friend stood up, bading farewell to her friends at the table, Simon quickly swallowed the last bite of his pumpkin pie and got up, throwing a hasty goodbye to his friends. When Simon caught up to the girls in the corridor, the two were giggling together, oblivious of his presence.

Isabelle turned after he tapped her on the shoulder, still smiling from something her friend said. When she saw Simon, her smile tightened but remained. “Yes?”

Suddenly face to face with her, Simon felt a wave of anxiety run through him, “Can I speak to you...alone?”

Isabelle cast a glance at her blonde friend, “Go ahead, Angelique. I’ll be there in a minute.” Angelique nodded, shooting a curious glance at Simon before turning and proceeding down the corridor. Isabelle looked back at Simon expectantly, eyebrows raised.

“I just...I wanted to see how you were doing.” Simon looked at the floor, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Isabelle cocked her head, dark hair falling forward, “I’m fine?”

“I was there in Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Her eyes were suddenly cast to the floor, red creeping into her cheeks, “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“Why?” Isabelle suddenly looked up, her eyes narrowed into slits, “We’re not friends. You barely know me. Why do you care?”

“I was there after Clary showed you the Prophet. I saw how shaken up you were, even if you try to deny it. I don’t care about gossip and I’m not trying be an asshole to you, like some other people. I honestly just wanted to see if you were okay.”

Isabelle looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. When she finally did, her face was cool and composed, “I’m fine. Thank you. Now please excuse me, I have to get back to Angelique.” With that, she turned and headed down the corridor, not once looking back. Simon sighed and began to walk to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Everything that Isabelle said was true but he couldn’t help himself. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop worrying about her anytime soon.

***

Of course, the news on Henry Monte’s death wasn’t kept quiet for long. Once the students caught wind of the second murder, their whispers about the Lightwood family were louder and less contained. Some of the professors had grouped together and decided to keep an eye on the Lightwood children, to make sure that everything wasn’t getting to them. Magnus Bane was one of those professors.

He tried to convince himself that it was out of the kindness of his heart. He used the excuse that he wanted them to stay focused for their exams. He tried to tell himself that it was because he knew their parents and, despite not liking Maryse or Robert in particular, he felt like it was his duty to watch out for their kids.

None of those were untrue per say, but they certainly weren’t the driving force of why he wanted to help. No. Magnus wanted to help because he liked them. Was drawn to them.

Okay, so he wasn’t drawn to all three of them, but he did like them all. Isabelle Lightwood, who was nowhere near becoming the next Potions Master, yet she threw herself into every lesson, damned if she wasn’t going to at least try to create similar to what he had instructed. Then there was Jace Wayland. Arrogant, sarcastic, but surprisingly good at brewing complex potions. He would make a good teacher if he learned to curb his attitude.

Finally, there was Alec Lightwood. Magnus, deep down, knew that he the reason he was invested in the Lightwood family was because of Alec. The quiet boy with brilliant blue eyes. Magnus found himself drawn to the boy, looking for him during dinner, in the corridors, in his class. Every smile that Magnus saw from the boy made his heart lurch.

_But_ , a small voice in whispered every time Magnus caught himself staring, _he’s just a boy. And you’re his professor_. Which was true. Even though Alec was nearly of age, Magnus knew that Charlotte would not react kindly to his attraction to the eldest Lightwood. No. Magnus would just have to keep it under control.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Isabelle fell into a routine during the next few weeks at Hogwarts. As much as she denied her parents' involvement in the murders, the situation continued to get worse. The slander continued, her fellow students grew more hostile to the Lightwoods, so she kept her head down. She went to her classes, throwing herself in her studies. She ate with Alec and Aline, the distance growing between her and her old friends steadily as each new article was written. She held her head high walking through the corridors, hearing every unpleasant whisper about her or her family. Every word stung and there were days that all her energy was spent holding back tears. She refused to let anyone break her. Most especially over garbage being written in the Daily Prophet.

She slowly started to avoid Simon too, however, it wasn't for the reason that she avoided everyone else. He never gave her dirty looks or murmured to his friends about what the  _Prophet_ had just written about her family. Instead, he gave her looks of sympathy when someone made a particularly snide comment and could be found glaring at those who glared at her. Isabelle was sure he was doing more, but she didn't want to know about any of it. She didn't need or want any of his help.

"You have to give him some credit," Aline whispered to her in Defense Against the Darks Arts class, frantically scribbling down notes.

"What?" Isabelle said, trying to both listen to her friend and listen to Professor Henrondale's lecture.

"Simon," Aline looked up from her notes long enough to give her an exasperated look, "Hallie Frisken has been glaring at you for the past 20 minutes and Simon's been giving her the dirtiest look."

Isabelle refused to look back at him, "So? This isn't his problem and I don't know why he's still is trying to help. I made it perfectly clear that we were fine without him."

"That's what makes it impressive. Even after you told him that, he's still is trying."

Still, Simon never approached her. He gave her the distance that she desired and, despite her annoyance with him, she was grateful for that.

* * *

"Iz, we need to get you out of this common room." Isabelle looked up to see Alec and Aline standing above her, arms crossed.

Setting her Divination homework on the chair's armrest, Isabelle replied, "Why? I leave here plenty."

Alec and Aline exchanged a look, brows raised and Isabelle scowled at their ability to coexist while ganging up on her, "You leave for classes and for meals."

"And to go to the library."

Alec rolled his eyes, "Isabelle. You need to get out. Get fresh air. Socialize."

"Which is why," Aline cut in, excitement dancing in her brown eyes, "You're going to come to Hogsmeade with me and Jace tomorrow."

Isabelle pushed some hair out of her face. It was true. She really hadn't been going out of the common room aside from classes and the occasional chat with Professor Gray. Finally, she smiled, her scowl melting off as she spoke, "Of course I'll go with you guys. The real question is why aren't you going, Alec?"

A light blushed colored his cheeks, "I'm in staying in to work on my homework."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes, catching his blush. She briefly wondered if this had anything to do with Professor Bane, but the thought left just as quickly as it had come. As the three fell into a light conversation about how the other houses' quidditch teams were shaping up, Isabelle felt the tension from the past few weeks slowly ease away. Maybe Alec and Aline were right. Maybe this trip would do her some good.

* * *

Isabelle spent the rest of the week in an excited tizzy. She was ready to get out of the confining castle walls and spend time shopping. When the day finally arrived, Jace met Aline and Isabelle in the Great Hall. He greeted his sister with a warm smile, "Izzy, it's nice to finally see you not rushing to class and your room.."  
Isabelle nudged him with her shoulder, muttering "Shut up, Jace,", but she said it with a smile and a quick hug.

The trio began their walk to Hogsmeade, surrounded by other excited students. No one paid any attention to Jace or Isabelle; everyone was too busy enjoying their freedom. Whether it was the fact that this was the first trip out of the year or the excitement of Halloween coming up, something was in the air, and all the students could feel it. Everyone seemed more relaxed and laughter filled the cool September air.

"Alright, where do we go first?" Jace asked once they arrived in the now crowded town.

Isabelle looked around, taking in Hogsmeade. Despite living in a town where magic was common, there was something special about Hogsmeade. Something that set it apart from any other Wizarding town that she had ever been to. She knew it was silly, but she always felt like there was somehow more magic in Hogsmeade than there was anywhere else, aside from maybe Hogwarts.

Grinning impishly, Aline answered, "We need to go to Honeydukes. The supply of sweets I brought from home is running dangerously low. I'm pretty sure someone else has been getting into it." Isabelle laughed as Aline gave her a pointed look.

"You leave it out right next to my bed. How do you expect me to resist?" Isabelle teased as the they meandered down the busy road.

"Don't worry Aline," Jace added, "It's not just you. She steals Max's candy when he's not looking. Her sweet tooth is out of control."

Isabelle gasped, giggles ruining the facade of seriousness, "Jace, don't you dare try to pin that on me. All of us know that you're the one who steals his candy! Max won't say anything because he idolizes you."

Jace smirked, confirming her accusation. "Maybe we should get him some candy. Some Fizzing Whisbees and chocolate frogs."

Isabelle nodded, muttering, "Poor kid probably needs some sweets to cheer him up."

Aline, who had been walking slightly in front of Jace and Isabelle, suddenly whipped around, grinning wildly, "That's exactly what we should do!"

Isabelle and Jace exchanged a wary glance. "What should we do?"

"Collect gifts for your parents, like a gift basket. Izzy, you said that they're being forced to stay at home, right?"

"More or less, yeah." Isabelle shrugged, slightly uncomfortable with the sudden shift in conversation.

Aline shrugged, "Well, if they have to stay at home as much as possible, I'm sure that when they go out to get food and stuff, they're just getting the necessities. They'd probably appreciate a basket full of sweets and gifts."

Jace stared at her, his mouth slightly open, "Aline, that's a brilliant idea!" Aline beamed. Though the Lightwoods were not her biological family, she couldn't stand the idea that Robert and Maryse were trapped in their own house. The thought of them and Max suffering broke her heart and she was ready to do whatever she could to help them.

Aline turned to Isabelle, trying to gauge a reaction. Over the past few weeks, Aline noticed her best friend's quiet change in demeanor. Isabelle had shut down. The loud, fun girl that Aline had grown up with slowly grew more withdrawn and proud. She held her head high in the corridors but never confronted the unpleasant rumors and whispers. Aline could tell that Isabelle was taking this harder than her siblings. Alec and Jace, of course, were concerned with the accusation and for their family but they were confident that everything would blow over shortly. Isabelle seemed less assured.

Relief ran through Aline when Isabelle smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure they would be happy to hear from us and know we were thinking of them."

Jace, Aline, and Isabelle now walked into Honeydukes with a purpose, each setting out to find the favorite sweets of Maryse, Robert, and Max Lightwood. Isabelle went to the chocolate section to pick up cauldron cakes, as Jace searched for the licorice wands and peppermint humbugs that his adoptive father was particularly fond of. Aline was in charge of getting Max's treats; she picked up the Fizzing Whisbees, Bertie Bott's beans, a few chocolate frogs, and some of Drooble's bubblegum.

When they finished collecting their various sweets, they left the store, all wearing large smiles. Adjusting his grip on the bag of sweets, Jace said, "I don't think our owl will be able to carry all of this."

"Maybe we can find a teacher that'll let us Floo it over?" Isabelle offered, beginning to regret not thinking through the delivery process. She didn't want the sweets to go to waste, especially now that she thought about how happy this would make Max and her parents.

Aline groaned, "That never even crossed my mind. Isabelle, you should ask Professor Gray. She might let you." Isabelle nodded absently, chewing on her lip.

"Oh!" Jace's voice pulled Isabelle out of her thoughts, "We should stop into Tomes and Stones. I'm sure since Mum and Dad can't go into work, they're burning through rolls of parchment for letters for work."

Tomes and Stones was a smaller shop, tucked away at the corner next to The Three Broomsticks, which was filled with content customers. "Why don't you two go grab a table? I can run in and get the quills," Isabelle offered, knowing that it could take Jace and Aline a while to find an available table. Jace raised his eyebrows but nodded, disappearing with Aline into the crowd of people.

Walking into the bookshop, Isabelle breathed in the familiar scent of ink and parchment, bringing her back to the library at home. A smile tugged on her lips, memories of her and her brother's lessons coming to mind. Though they hadn't had a formal education before Hogwarts, Maryse and Robert had wanted their children to be well-educated, hiring tutors to teach Alec, Jace, and Isabelle's about anything and everything that they deemed important; history, politics, geography. Isabelle wandered down an aisle at random, unfamiliar with the shop's layout. Examining the items on the shelves carefully, she paid little attention to where she was walking, accidently running into a tall body.

"Sorry," Isabelle mumbled, stepping out of the body's way, looking down at a pair of weirdly familiar shoes.

"No worries, Miss Lightwood," A deep, familiar voice replied. Looking up, Isabelle found herself looking into Professor Herondale's dark blue eyes, which twinkled with amusement, "You seemed pretty absorbed in those shelves, I should have moved out of your way."

Isabelle smiled, "I'm not quite familiar with this store's layout."

"What are you looking for?"

"Some nicer quills and parchment. For my parents."

Professor Herondale led her a little further down the aisle, before pausing in front of a display of quills. Isabelle scanned her options before picking a blood red quill and a beautiful glossy black quill. "Thank you, Professor. I'm sure I can find the rest of the supplies by myself."

Professor Herondale smiled warmly at Isabelle, "Of course." Hesitating, he added in an undertone, "And, if you ever need to talk, my office door is always open."

Though she appreciated the gesture, Isabelle's cheeks burned red. It was one thing for Professor Gray to worry about her, but for Professor Herondale, whom she never had a real conversation with outside of class, to offer to chat with her about her parents was a completely different story. She forced a smiled before he walked away, dropping it as soon as his back was turned.

Once Professor Herondale was out of her sight, Isabelle strolled back down the aisle, carefully examining the products, taking her time. If she was going to send a gifts back home, she wanted them to be perfect. Along with fresh parchment, Isabelle found a book for her father on the history of Wizard law. Going all the way back to her early childhood, she could remember her father's long winded lectures on the Law, and she reasoned that he would enjoy, or at least get a kick out of the book. Turning the corner to purchase the book, she was shocked to see Professor Gray, standing at the counter and laughing with the sandy haired man behind it. Professor Herondale who was standing next to Gray and engaged in a conversation with the silver haired Professor Castairs, nodded at Isabelle.

"Excuse me, Tessie," The man murmured to Professor Gray, the smile never leaving his lips, "Hello! Did you find everything alright?" he asked, directing the question towards Isabelle.

Refusing to look at Professor Herondale, Isabelle nodded politely, "I did, thank you."

Upon hearing Isabelle's voice, Professor Gray whirled around, "Isabelle! I'm so glad to see you!" Isabelle smiled at her, knowing that Professor Gray was happy to see her out of the castle. "Isabelle, this is my brother Nate," She gestured towards the man behind the counter, "Nate, this is Isabelle Lightwood, the one I was telling you about."

Isabelle's heart sunk. Though the news about her family was public, Isabelle didn't expect her favorite professor to be gossiping about her to her family. Nate, as though sensing her discomfort, gave Isabelle a warm smile, "She was just telling me how you're one of the best in your class at Transfiguration. Tessie said you have a strong gift in the subject."

Glancing towards Professor Gray, who beamed back at her, Isabelle felt her lips lift into a genuine smile. "Well, I wouldn't be where I am without Professor Gray."

Nate smiled, his cheeks dimpling, "How about I check your purchases out?" The goods were bought, and money quickly traded. Isabelle said her goodbyes to her professors and Nate before heading to the Three Broomsticks, slightly happier than when she left Hogwarts as Nate's words of praise danced around her head.. Scanning the Broomstick's seating area, cheeks pink from the bitter wind, it only took her a few seconds to find Jace. He was seated at a table with Clary and Simon, Aline nowhere to be seen. Simon seemed annoyed and out of place. He played with the mug sitting in front of him and kept shooting glares at the other two. Clary and Jace, oblivious to Simon, were leaning towards each other, engrossed in their conversation. Isabelle catalogued their position, making sure to remember to tease Jace at a later date.

Taking a deep breath, Isabelle lifted her head and sat across the table from Simon.

Surprise passed briefly on the Hufflepuff's face before he offered her a small smile, which she returned, "Where is Aline?"

"She left a while ago to chat with Helen Blackthorn." Isabelle glanced around the bar before finding Aline wrapped in a conversation with the pretty Hufflepuff.

"I see. And how long have they been ignoring you?" Isabelle gestured to Jace and Clary.

Simon scowled, brown eyes hardening, "The past 10 minutes." Isabelle glanced at the pair. Jace hadn't even acknowledged that she had sat down. "Isabelle," Simon hesitated, waiting for her to meet his unsure gaze, "If I somehow offended you the other week...I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention."

Isabelle dropped her gaze to the table, tracing the wood patterns with her index finger, "I know. I also know that I came off a lot more harshly than I had intended. But," She raised her eyes, "Even though I appreciate your efforts, I want to keep everything within the family. You understand, right?"

He nodded, "Right, and I get that. I just figured it'd be nice to know that you have some support, especially when dealing with other students. And, I don't know if Clary has said anything, but she feels the same way. Just let me or Clary know if there is anything we can do to help."

Isabelle felt touched and warmed that even though the she hadn't had much of a relationship with Clary or Simon prior to this year, they still were watching out for her and her siblings. An idea suddenly struck her, making her grin with excitement, "Actually, I do have an idea for how you can help me."

* * *

An hour into his studies, Alec began to regret his decision to stay at Hogwarts. He knew that he needed to spend a day in the library, away from any distractions, and just hunker down and finish his essays. But, when visions of warm butterbeer filled his mind, it was hard to convince himself that he had made the right choice.

"Do you ever have any fun?"

Alec looked up at Professor Bane's looming figure, "Yes, of course I do. It's not my fault that I've been assigned so much work this early in the year.." the words spilled out his mouth without his brain processing them.

"That may be true," Professor Bane said, seating himself next to Alec, "But, you are the only person in the library that's not a 3rd year or younger."

Alec glanced around. Professor Bane spoke the truth. Most of the students who were truly swamped with homework, the 5th years and 7th years, had chosen to go to the village, allowing themselves one day of freedom. Defensively, Alec retorted, "I needed to get my work done."

"And I'm not denying that," Bane replied, fingers skimming through the pages of a book, a small smile was just barely visible on his lips. "But, I've only seen you at meals, classes, and in the library." Alec's heart gave an involuntary jump at the thought of Bane looking for him or noticing where he was. "I mean," he added, "When I was a 7th year, I jumped at every opportunity to not do my homework. Parties, Hogsmeade, clubs...you name it, I was a part of it."

"And how did you do on the N.E.W.T.s?"

Bane grinned, white teeth flashing, "Nothing below an Exceeds Expectations. Then again, I wasn't trying to be an Auror." After a pause, he continued, "If I may ask, why do you want to be an Auror?"

Alec choose his words carefully, not wanting Bane to get the wrong impression, "I think I've always wanted to be one. I mean, I grew up watching my Mum and Dad capture the bad guys. They made the world a better place. Of course, once I got older, I learned that it was much more complicated and difficult than what I had thought, but still. I want to help people and do something good for the world.."

"Mhm," Professor Bane hummed, steepling his fingers under his chin, Alec noted a collection of various thin and thick silver rings on his fingers, they winked at him even in the dim library lighting. "How very noble of you."

Desperate to change the subject away from himself, Alec asked, "And you? How'd you decide to be a teacher?"

"What?" Professor Bane laughed loudly, earning himself a glare from Madame Montclaire, "You don't think that I've wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid? No, for a long time I didn't really know what I wanted to be in my life. I had a knack for Potions though. But, I knew I didn't really want to work in the medical field, so Professor Townsend, the head of my house, recommended looking into teaching. It was well known that Professor Nightshade was retiring soon. After talking with Headmaster Branwell and Nightshade, I figured it could be a good career path. I haven't looked back since."

Curiosity got the best of Alec, "Wait a second, Professor Nightshade just retired. When did you finish school?"

Sheepishly, Bane mumbled, if pressed Alec might say there was a blush spreading on the professor's face. "About 3 years ago."

Alec stared at him, "So you were at school when I was a 4th year? Why don't I remember you?"

Professor Bane shrugged, "Because I was a 7th year? Because I was a Ravenclaw? I would be very shocked if our paths had crossed at all when I was a student."

Alec thought hard, trying to remember the man. Surely he would have remembered such an impressive, not to mention, attractive, person. "Oh!" Alec gasped suddenly as a faint memory moved to the front of his mind, "You're  _Magnus Bane_! Jace mentioned going to one of your parties once."

Bane flicked his bright eyes down towards the table, "He must have snuck in. There is no way that I would have voluntarily invited a 3rd year Gryffindor to one of my parties."

Alec leaned back in his chair. Not knowing Bane's age had made it easier for him to shrug off his attraction as something fleeting, something that would never happen. But this? This was bad. 3 years wasn't that big of a difference- hell, they had gone to school together at a certain point.

_No,_  he thought,  _He's still your teacher. Even if he's closer to you in age, it will never happen. He is Professor Bane, not Magnus. Not someone you could ever have a chance with_.

Trying to keep the conversation going, Alec asked, "So, what did you do after Hogwarts, if this is your first year teaching?"

A wistful smile graced Bane's lips, "I traveled. Charlotte- Headmistress Branwell, had connections with the Headmasters from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. They graciously let me stay for a few months and view how they taught classes. After that, I visited Ireland and Germany. I didn't really have a purpose, but still. It was nice."

"That sounds incredible," Alec breathed.

Bane smiled at him, "It was. If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend it. My one regret is never going to America. Tessa, Professor Gray, was born in New York, and she speaks highly of it. Had Professor Nightshade not retired, I'd probably be there now."

Alec, selfishly, was glad that Professor Bane had not gone to America. The two of the remained in the library for the next few hours, getting to know each other, Alec's essay forgotten as they discussed literature, beautiful fields in Ireland and danced quickly around the topic of family, the older man didn't say much, but Alec tucked away the knowledge that he was an only child, another fact for his growing collection.

Upon hearing the voices of students returning from Hogsmeade, Bane glanced at his watch, "I think it's time for me to leave, so you can finish your essay. I've wasted the past few hours for you. Next time I see you, I hope it's not finishing more homework."

As Bane got up and turned to leave, Alec asked, "If you're so against the library, why were you here?"

Bane hesitated before turning to face the dark-haired boy, "Tessa had asked me to pick up a book for her.I should get it and bring it to her office before she returns. Have a good day, Alec."

Alec couldn't help but let his eyes stray to the fluttering ends of his Professor's robes as the man walked away, leaving behind only the smell of sandalwood and a tight feeling in Alec's stomach.

Picking up his quill and pulling his essay back towards him, Alec replayed their conversation over and over again in his head. When Isabelle burst into the library a half hour later, he was still sitting in a daze, essay untouched.

"Alec!" She cried, cheeks pink and dark eyes shining, "There you are!"

Alec blinked. After a few short hours at Hogsmeade, Isabelle seemed like her old, excitable self. He smiled, "Here I am."

"I've been looking for you. Listen. Jace, Aline, and I had the most brilliant idea. Guess!" Before he was able to answer, Isabelle exclaimed, "We're making a care package for Mum, Dad, and Max! We bought all the gifts."

"Oh?" Alec leaned back in his chair, impressed, "What did you get them?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes, but smiled, "It's all in the Common Room. We're putting it together tonight. But, we got them sweets, and books, and quills. Simon had the idea to get Mum and Dad a bottle of firewhiskey and some butterbeer, in case they're unable to go out and get some."

Alec raised his eyebrows. Last he heard of Simon, Isabelle had grumbled about him and how he should mind his business. Cautiously, Alec replied, "That sounds great, Iz. I'm sure they'll love it." She beamed, "You said Simon helped?"

Her smile diminished a bit, "Yeah. Jace ran into Clary and him at the Three Broomsticks. You know how Jace has been around Clary for the past few weeks." Alec thought of the praise that Jace talked of her and how much he's been trying to show off to her with a clenched heart. "Aline had found Helen, so I was pretty much on my own. But, Simon was there, and we talked, and I decided to let him help. He's not as bad as I thought, Alec."

Alec hid his smile. Aline and he had discussed the boy, thinking that Isabelle had overreacted. Part of him had pitied Simon, knowing that it was damn near impossible to get back on Isabelle's good side once she decided she didn't like you. "I'm glad to hear it, Isabelle."

"And since you decided to be boring all day, you are required to come help us put together the care package," Isabelle tugged on Alec's hand, forcing him to stand. "Alec! You hardly wrote anything! What were you doing the whole time?"

Alec thought back to his conversation with Professor Bane, a small smile forming on his lips. Shoving his school work into his bag, Alec replied, "I was, ah...distracted."

"You know," Isabelle said as they walked back to their Common Room, "You're eventually going to have to tell me who this distraction is."

Alec laughed and nudged her with his shoulder, but said nothing.

* * *

Tessa Gray sat in her office, pouring over one of the books that Will had recommended to her. She had needed a break from teaching and dealing with her students, and today had been just that. After seeing Nate and being able to spend the whole day with Will and Jem, Tessa couldn't stop smiling.

"Tessa!" Magnus burst into her office, bright green eyes flashing, "Tessa, how are you?"  
She stared at the man who had just flung himself into the chair across from her, a slight giggle entering her voice as she replied, "I'm well, and you?"  
"Fine, fine" He waved his hand, silver rings flashing, "Have you heard any news about Robert and Maryse's case?"

Tessa sighed, her mood already deflating, and ran a pale hand through her hair, "Nothing new, no. The Ministry is still looking into the murders and the Lightwoods are still under house arrest."

He shook his head, "You're quite close to the younger Lightwood- Isabelle, yes? How is she holding up?"

"She's stubborn," Tessa thought back to their meetings, "She refuses to admit how much this is hurting her. But, already, she's receding into herself. You may not notice anything since this is your first year, but I started teaching when she was a 1st year. She's always been so vocal, so energetic. Now... now she barely speaks. Even when we have tea together, it takes so much coaxing to get her to say anything."

"And the other Lightwoods?"

She shook her head, "I don't know them well enough to say. Jace is still quite vocal in class and doesn't seem much changed by the news. Maybe a bit more wary towards his fellow students? I'd ask Will. Jace is incredibly talented at Defense Against the Dark Arts and if there is a teacher he'd be close to, it'd be Will. As for Alec, the boy's always been quiet. But, again, he doesn't seem quite as affected."

Magnus sighed, "I just can't believe some professors are actually treating them differently."

Tessa thought to Jessamine, the Muggle Studies professor, "Some are taking the deaths of the muggleborns close to heart. It's not right for them to take it out on the Lightwood children, but it is a touchy subject for them."  
"Still," Magnus angrily muttered.

Tessa searched her friend's face, "What's the matter, Magnus? Something else is bothering you. What is it?"

Magnus's eyes shifted from her face to the wall behind her, "Nothing, Tessa."

"Magnus Bane," He focused on her again, "What's going on?"

Letting out a sigh, he said, "I think I might..like somone. Someone," He added, when he saw the grin growing on the brunette's face, "That I shouldn't like."

"Why?" His friend's grin didn't fade, "Does this person not fancy men?"

Miserably, Magnus muttered, "I don't even know."

Furrowing her brow, Tessa said, "That doesn't sound like you. You're so out-there and unafraid. Who is it, Magnus? Why can't you just ask them."  
Suddenly, Magnus exploded. He paced around Tessa's small office, hands running through his dark hair, making it messier than it already was, "Because, Tessa, I can't ask him. I can't and it's so wrong of me to even be attracted to him. I shouldn't be looking for him in the corridors and searching for him when I'm not teaching. I  _can't_ like him, but I do. I do. And under normal circumstances, you're right. I would have done something. But these aren't normal circumstances, and I can't just ask him to get dinner sometime."  
Cautiously, Tessa asked, "Why can't you, Magnus?"

Standing still, face tilted towards the ground, he whispered, "Because he's my student."

Despite how quiet Magnus's confession had been, Tessa had heard. Though her heart beat wildly, knowing how much trouble Magnus could get into, she merely responded with an, "Oh?"

Magnus collapsed back into the chair, his head in his hands, "I don't know how it happened, Tessa. Yet, I still find myself thinking of him, of calculating the age difference, and wondering really, how bad it would it be?" Before Tessa could answer, he added, "And I know, it would be bad. Very bad."  
"Charlotte would have your head. Then she would fire you." Tess agreed.

"I know," Magnus groaned.

Tentatively, she asked the question that Magnus had been waiting to hear, "And...who is it?"

The name came out in a pained breath, "Alec Lightwood. It's Alec Lightwood."

The two sat in a tense silence; Tessa mulling over the information that Magnus had handed her and Magnus regretting his decision to tell her.

Finally, Tessa whispered, "What are you going to do?"

Magnus laughed bitterly, the words coming out clipped and harsh, "The only thing I can do. Ignore my feelings."


	6. Chapter 6

Leaving the Great Hall on Monday morning, feeling slightly stuffed with his breakfast, Simon found himself in an unusually chipper mood. Though his weekend had not gone the way he had expected, it had been good enough to carry his good mood into the following week, even on a day as usually horrid as Monday.

“Simon,” A familiar voice called.

He smiled down at Clary, who was slightly out of breath after running to catch up with him, “Hey. Didn’t think I’d see you until Astronomy.”

She gave him a small, apologetic smile, “I know, but I wanted to see you before class. I’m sorry about this weekend. I know that it wasn’t what we had been looking forward to.”

The two of them had been looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip for the past few weeks. Between long hours of homework, intensive research in the library, and trying to catch up on sleep whenever they could, Clary and Simon hadn’t had much time to hang out with each other. However, when Clary ran into Jace at the Three Broomsticks while getting butterbeer, their plans had quickly changed. All of a sudden, Jace was sitting at their table, captivating Clary in a conversation that Simon couldn’t keep up with. Even Jace’s friend Aline left the table, having found someone else to chat with.

He was saved from boredom and annoyance, though, once Isabelle had arrived. Brimming with excitement and happiness, she had explained the idea of creating a care package for her parents, and showed him the trinkets that she had already bought. It had been her idea to split up- Jace and Clary to search for certain objects while her and Simon tackled the other half. Despite their previous interactions, Simon and Isabelle had gotten along, trading anecdotes of their childhood and bouncing ideas of what to get for the Lightwood parents off each other. Though the conversation was slightly strained at  the beginning of the day, the two teens both wary of the other, Simon ultimately had a wonderful time.

“Don’t worry about it, Clary.” Simon assured her, her frown cutting into his good mood, “Besides, it was one weekend. We can make time to hang out this weekend.”

She looked up at him, a small smile growing, “Sounds perfect, as long as you promise to come see my tryouts tonight. Please? You have to be there. I’m going to need as much moral support as I can get, if I’m going to even come close to making the team.”

Simon laughed, “Like you even needed to ask. Of course I’ll be there, Clary. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Besides, no one else stands a chance against you.”

***

Jace was a bundle of nerves. He would never admit it to anyone but he was. Maia had finally scheduled tryouts for the quidditch team and Clary had told him that she was planning on trying out. Tryouts to make the Gryffindor team were always very intense and highly competitive, and on the odd occasion; dangerous. Although really, how often could a kid simply disappear?. Though Clary had promised him that she had been practicing all summer and was confident in her abilities, Jace couldn’t help but still be nervous for her..

His nerves, in turn, set him more on edge than he usually allowed himself to be. He wasn’t supposed to be worrying over a girl and whether or not they’d make it on the team. Even so, he could barely touch his plate of food; he spent the entire meal pushing his peas back and forth.  After dinner, he hurried up  to his room to throw on his quidditch uniform, promising himself that he would not let himself get upset if Clary didn’t make the team. Maia would pick what was right for the team and Jace knew he couldn’t let himself get his hopes up for Clary, especially since he had never seen her fly.

Making his way down and out of the common room and towards the quidditch field, Jace repeated his mantra, trying to get Clary out of his head. Though he had been running late, he was not the last person on the team to arrive on the field. Maia nodded tersely at him, arms crossed, before returning her gaze back to the locker room doors. Sure enough, Ted Hillcrest, their resident Keeper, stumbled out, uniform hastily tied together.

Maia pursed her lips but said nothing on the matter. She gestured for the team to huddle together, “Alright, guys. Welcome back! As you all know, tonight will be one of the most important nights for our team, excluding our games. We won the Cup last year, but we lost quite a bit of 7th year players. We need to replace them and find people who can carry us back to winning the Cup. Remember- we’re looking for two Chasers, a Beater, and a Seeker. After we pick our newest members, we’ll discuss practice times. But,” She said, looking up from her team, “It looks like it’s about time to get ready for tryouts.”  
Jace glanced up from their huddle and saw a large group of Gryffindors marching towards them, brooms clenched in hands. To avoid searching for the little red-head, Jace averted his eyes to the stands. The crowd was bigger than the year before, given that their team was now the team to beat. He saw Aline and Alec, huddled together, the green from their scarfs bright in a field of reds, yellows, and dark blues. Knowing that Izzy had been planning on coming, he scanned the stands for her. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the only other green scarf seated next to a yellow scarf. He smirked, vaguely, wondering if there was something going on between those two.

“Okay!” Maia clapped her hands, drawing back Jace’s attention. The group of Gryffindors had formed a semicircle around the current team and were focused on Maia. “Hello, all. Just making sure you all know, we’re looking for a Seeker, a Beater, and a Chaser. If you’re here for a Keeper position, I’m sorry, but this isn’t your year.” She paused, waiting for anyone to leave. There was some awkward shuffling, but no one walked off.

Maia’s lips curved slightly upwards, “Alright, excellent. Now, I want you all to fly around the field once- test out your brooms, make sure they’re working. This isn’t a race, just you making sure your broom is working normally.” She nodded and the group of potential players clambered on their brooms and took off.

This time, Jace couldn’t help himself. His eyes found the bright red hair, and followed her. Though he knew she wasn’t fully testing her limits, he could tell that she was a confident flyer. She flew straight and sound, and if he squinted, Jace could see her smiling. When everyone landed, Jace was able to examine her closely. Her face was flushed, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips. Strands of her hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, now framed her face.

“So, we’re going to do this in sections,” Maia’s voice pulled him back out of his thoughts. Jace pulled his eyes away from Clary’s face, realizing that he had been staring. “Over there if you want to be a Chaser, there,” Maia gestured to another space, “for Beaters, and then over there for Seekers.” Jace scanned the groups as they shuffled off into the three sections, avoiding looking too long at the Seeker section.

“We’ll have those who want to be Chasers go first. You’ll go one by one, trying to score points in, with Ted blocking the goals.” Ted gave a small wave, “Then, Beaters, after the Chasers go, we’re going to have Gale fly around and you have to try to hit him. Don’t worry about injuring him. He’ll be wearing extra protective gear. Seekers, I know that it can take a while to find the Snitch, so we’ll have you guys looking for it, while the everyone is doing their own sections. I’ll keep my eye on you guys, and we’ll have you search for the Snitch a few times, depending on how quick someone catches it.

Maia grinned,  a mischievous glint in her dark eyes, “Who’s ready to get this started?”

While the Chasers figured out who was going first, Maia pulled Jace aside and asked him to keep a close eye on the Seekers, “I can’t watch Chasers and Seekers, by myself. Just see who seems to be the quickest to respond to a sighting, while you’re flying around. Okay?”

He nodded. She gave him a quick smile, before shouting instructions to the Chasers. Jace quickly mounted his broom and took to the sky. As the Seekers followed his lead and took their positions in the sky, waiting for the small, gold ball to be released, Jace scanned the group of Gryffindors.

There were only three students going for Seeker. There was, of course, Clary, clearly the smallest one of the batch. Next to her was lanky Victor Hias, from Jace’s year. Aside from the fact that Izzy briefly dated him last year, Jace knew nothing about him. To the right of Victor, was Janene Pillsmound, a 7th year. At the end of the year, she had told Jace that she was planning on spending her summer practicing her Seeking abilities, just for this very moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace saw Maia release the Snitch. The three students waited tensely, eyes following the Snitch. A few seconds later, a smirking Maia blew her whistle and the tryouts began.

Jace watched the potential Seekers scout the field for a few moments before he snuck a glance at the Chasers. The current student was having issues getting the Quaffle past Ted. While Ted was an excellent Keeper, Jace could tell that the student would most likely not be getting a team robe. Jace diverted his eyes back to the Seekers. Suddenly, Clary and Janene were swooping low, eyes trained on something Jace couldn’t see. Viktor, Jace noted, was following them closely, though blindly.

Maia, who had been observing the Chasers, turned to watch the two girls, suddenly pulling their brooms up, raising higher and higher. Jace held his breath; the two were neck and neck. Somehow, Clary pulled ahead of Janene and managed to keep her lead.

“I think,” Maia had flown over to Jace, a slow smile growing across her face, “We may have just found our newest Seeker.” They watched as Clary finally managed to get her hands on the fluttering ball. “What’s her name again?”

“Clary,” Jace replied, his eyes never leaving Clary’s form, seated on her broom, clutching the Snitch, “Her name is Clary Fray.

***

After tryouts were over, Maia had a group meeting with the new team, in the center of the field.

“Congratulations, everyone!” Maia beamed at her newest members. Aside from Clary, she had chosen Helene Farground for their newest Chaser and Tally Nu as a Beater. “In two days, we’ll have our first team practice, to get used to flying together and working as a team. There, I’ll announce the more regular schedule. Helene, Tally and Clary- you three will be getting your team robes then. I’ll see you then.”

After she dismissed them, Clary turned to search the stands for Simon, hoping he’d come down now that the team meeting was over. He had promised her that he’d come but, in the midst of everything, she hadn’t time to look for him.

“Congratulations. You deserve to be on the team, Clary.”

Clary whirled around, a smile on her face, expecting to see Simon. She was pleasantly surprised to see Jace standing there, smiling down at her. Under normal circumstances, Clary would have been more enthusiastic at having Jace congratulate her on making the team, and seeming genuinely happy for her. But, she knew how much Simon disliked Jace, and right now, she was trying to regain some normalcy with her best friend. Her smile dropped for a second, before she was able to cover it, “Thanks, Jace.”

Turning away from Jace, she continued to search for Simon. Jace frowned, “He’s here. Simon. I saw him in the stands.”  
“Did you?” Clary murmured, only half listening.

“Mhm,” Jace hummed, “He’s the only Hufflepuff here. He was talking to Isabelle, last I saw him.”

Clary bit her lip. It wasn’t as though she disliked Isabelle. Quite the opposite actually, now that she was getting to know her more. Even so, the thought of Simon spending time with Isabelle, when he was supposed to be cheering for her, made Clary feel slightly uneasy.

“Clary!” A familiar voice called, pulling her out of her thoughts. Simon walked towards her, grinning. A smile spread on Clary’s face, relieved that he came and found her.

Already heading towards Simon, Clary called out as an afterthought, “Bye, Jace. See you later,” over her shoulder. Simon threw an arm around her shoulders, and they walked away, discussing her excitement to be on the team and how proud he was of her.

For a moment, Jace stared after her and Simon, scowling, before walking off the field to find his siblings.

***

“Alright, so I managed to talk to Professor Gray after dinner last night.” Isabelle said, sitting herself down next to Aline and Alec at breakfast the next morning.

Alec hummed, scribbling on a sheet of parchment. Aline rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Isabelle and asked, “Well? What did she say?”

Izzy grinned, “She’s letting me floo the care package over tonight. After dinner. If that works for everyone else.”

Looking up from his paper, Alec blinked at his sister, “What’s going on with the care package?” Isabelle stared at him in amused disbelief.

Aline stifled a giggled behind her hand, “Did you let your parents know? I can’t imagine Maryse being pleased if she unexpectedly got a basket fireplace.”  
“Already ahead of you.” Isabelle replied, taking a bite of toast smothered in butter, “I sent a letter right after I talked to Professor Gray. I don’t know if she’ll respond, but at least she’ll have been warned.”

Almost on cue, Isabelle’s barn owl swooped down, landing next to her. Isabelle stroked her feathers absently as she unattached the letter on her owl’s leg. She skimmed the letter, a frown growing on her face the further down she read.

“What? What’s going on?” Concern cut through Aline’s voice.

Isabelle threw the letter on the table and gave it a disgusted glare. “Mum has already decided,” She spoke carefully, each word carrying anger, “that because of the investigation and because the Ministry is keeping such a close eye on them, that Alec, Jace, and I, shouldn’t come home for Christmas holiday.”

Alec whipped his head up, “What?”

“But the holiday break isn’t for another month!” Aline protested, “How can they already have decided that you guys can’t come home?”

Isabelle shook her head, “Apparently the Ministry is keeping them on lockdown until they solve the murders or until they have a new suspect.”

Alec scowled, “But the Ministry already have it in their minds that Mum and Dad are the killers. They aren’t going to be changing their minds unless they get solid evidence against them.”

The three of them sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Isabelle was absolutely furious. She was furious at the Ministry for blaming her parents for the murder. She was furious at the murderer who was killing innocent people and trying to pin it on her family. But most of all, she was furious at her parents. If they hadn’t joined Valentine’s Circle in the first place, the Lightwood family wouldn’t be in this mess. Max would be able to go to school with his friends, without fear of getting harassed. Isabelle’s biggest worries would be studying for her upcoming O.W.L.s. She and her siblings would be able to go home for the holidays, like a normal family.

Needing to clear her head, she stood, “I’m going to find Jace and let him know.”

Aline watched her friend stalk to the Gryffindor table, head held high. Aline turned back to Alec, who had gone back to writing his essay. “Alec?” She waited until he looked up from his paper, wanting his full attention, “You do know that you, Izzy and Jace are always welcome to stay with us over the holiday, right?”

Alec smiled sadly, “Thanks, Aline. But, it’s Christmas. It would be weird going somewhere else aside from home, you know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean” Aline nodded, picking at her sleeve, “I just wanted to let you know that the offer was there.”

As Alec packed up his school bag and bid her goodbye, Aline sat at the table alone. If there was one thing Aline hated, it was feeling helpless. Especially when it came to her friends and family. To her, the Lightwoods qualified as both. When she came up with the care package idea, she hoped that it would be enough to cheer up Isabelle. While it had worked for a while, Isabelle was slowly slipping back to being detached from anything that didn't have to do with the investigation. Even Professor Gray had been asking Aline about Isabelle. As she packed up to go to History, an idea struck her. A sly smile crept onto her lips as she walked to class, fleshing out the plan in her mind.

***

Being a muggle-born at Hogwarts, Simon had come to expect the unexpected- from the paintings that would give him snarky remarks in the morning, to the temperamental staircases. All things considered, Simon had thought that he was prepared for anything Hogwarts had to throw at him.

However, he did not expect Aline Penhallow to grab his arm and drag him into an empty classroom as he was headed to lunch. She shut the doors behind her and stared at him, before jumping into her speech.

“I know we don’t really know each other-” Which was true. Though the two students were in the same year and had been in a number of the same classes, Simon and Aline had never talked. Aline kept to herself in class, not really speaking unless called on and mostly sitting next to people she knew. Whenever he did see Aline looking animated and excited, it was when she was conversing with her close friends.

“But,” Aline continued, “I need your help.”

Simon blinked, “What?” He was too shocked to worry about sounding rude.

Aline’s next sentences was spoken in a rush, “It’s Isabelle. I need you to help me with Isabelle.” His heart beat a little quicker, wondering if she was in any trouble. As if sensing where his thoughts were going, Aline grimaced, “That made it sounds a lot worse than it is. I just mean that with the whole investigation going on, it would be good for Isabelle to know we’re there for her. Just keep an eye out for her and let her know that you’re there for her.”

Simon let out a long breath. As much as he wanted to help Isabelle, he wasn’t sure that it was his place. He also wasn’t sure how he was now in this situation. A year ago, he and Isabelle hadn’t uttered more than 10 words to each other. Now, her closest friend was coming to him to ask for his help.

“Aline...” Simon started slowly, “As much as I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I just don’t know if I’m the best person to do that. I mean,” He hurried on when Aline’s face fell, “Isabelle has made it clear that she wants this kept between family.”

“Look, Simon. Isabelle thinks she can handle this by herself. But trust me when I say, she need other people. People who aren’t directly involved with everything going on. And right now, aside from me and her brothers, it seems like the only person she is starting to trust is you. Please,” Her voice cracked, “Help her.”

Simon sighed, knowing that he was probably going to get in over his head, “Yeah, I’ll do my best to help. I’ll keep an eye on her, if that’s what you think is best.”

Immediately, Aline’s face brightened, “Thank you.” Though she didn’t elaborate on her thanks, the tone was earnest and warmed Simon’s heart. She grabbed his arms and lead him out into the corridor, “We should probably get back to the Great Hall. I’m sure your friends are wondering where you are.”

The unlikely pair made their way to the dining hall in a comfortable silence. When they reached the hall, Alime said another quiet thank you, accompanied by an earnest smile, before making her way to the Slytherin table. Simon could see the dark haired Lightwood siblings grinning at Aline, Isabelle brightly waving her down. He turned, an unconscious smile growing on his face, and made his way past the Ravenclaw table to his own, where his fellow Badgers were cheerfully talking and eating. He caught Clary’s curious glance from across the tables as he sat down, but he shook his head. Clary may have be his best friend, but this was something he needed to do alone.

***

Simon somehow forgot how damn stubborn Clary could be. The two of them had Potions together after lunch and the moment Professor Bane set them off to make a Befuddlement Draught, Clary pounced on him.

“So,” Clary kept her tone light as she cut up scurvy grass, “I saw you come into lunch with Aline Penhallow today.” Simon made a noncommittal noise, glancing at his textbook to make sure they were following the correct instructions. Bane may be a likable teacher, but he took his position seriously and expected nothing but the best from his students.

“Seriously? That’s all I get?” Clary stopped her work to look at Simon, “I know I’ve been super busy with homework and Quidditch practice, but it’s really not fair of you to shut me out.”

Simon looked up at her and met her gaze, “I’m not mad at you, Clary, and this isn’t me punishing you for anything.”

“Then why are you shutting me out?” Though Clary’s voice wavered a little, she held his gaze, eyes blazing.

Someone cleared their throat behind the two students, “Not that I don’t find your personal lives absolutely _riveting_ , I’d focus on the task at hand if I were you.” Professor Bane moved away from their table. Clary dropped her gaze back to the grass and resumed cutting them. Simon’s cheeks burned from embarrassment but he continued adding ingredients to the cauldron.

After a few minutes of working in total silence, Clary whispered, “Simon, I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

Simon took a deep breath, determined not to shoot back a hurtful comment, “Can we talk about this outside of class? Let’s get this potion done and not cause a scene.”

Her green eyes narrowed dangerously, but she nodded. The rest of the class flew by in tense conversations. Clary and Simon only spoke about the task at hand. When he went to turn in their sample of the potion, Bane raised his brow at Simon but said nothing. When Simon returned to the station that he and Clary had been working at, he found her packing up her books, hair falling out of her bun. When she looked up at him, her eyes were nearly in slits and her mouth was set in a hard line. She stalked out of the dungeons without a word. Simon inwardly sighed, knowing that if he said the wrong thing that this would become a huge fight. Clary’s temper was not something to be trifled with. And he very much valued his life.

He quickly threw his school supplies in his bag and hurried out of the room. Sure enough, Clary was waiting for him in the corridor, her arms crossed. “So. What’s going on that you can’t tell me about?”

Simon shook his head, “Clary, if I couldn’t tell you then, why would I be able to tell you now?”

“Because,” Clary’s voice rose, “I’m your best friend. I don’t want you getting hurt!”

Simon began to walk towards the greenhouse, Clary striding next to him. “Not that I don’t appreciate your concern, but I’m a big boy, Clary. I can protect myself.” He paused, “What do you think I have to protect myself from?”

She let out a huff of air, “It’s not that I don’t think you can’t protect yourself, Simon. It’s just that it’s Isabelle Lightwood and Aline Penhallow. Don’t think,” She added when he rolled his eyes away from her, “That I haven’t noticed you watching them or you walking into the Great Hall with Aline today. I’m sorry but when have they ever showed any interest in you?”

Normally, Simon would have just ignored what Clary said. He’d walk away from the situation and come back to their conversation when he was calm. But her words buried themselves in his mind, nestling under his skin. “Oh, so it’s impossible for anyone aside from my current friends to talk to me or hang out with me?”

“Simon, I didn’t mean-”

“No, Clary.” Simon stopped in his tracks and turned towards her, voice raising. His hands were clenched into fists, “That’s exactly what you meant. Besides, you’re one to talk.”

She recoiled sharply, eyes widening, “What are you talking about?”

Simon scoffed and crossed his arms, “Please. You know exactly what I’m talking about. All you’ve done this year is hang around Jace Wayland. How dare you try to lecture me about Isabelle when you’re mooning over him!”

“We’re just friends, Simon! I’m allowed to hang out with other people aside from you.”

At this point, Simon knew that they were causing a scene. He could see people milling about them, shooting the pair curious looks. But he didn’t care. Now that he was finally saying what he had been thinking for the past three months, it was all coming out and there was no going back. “You know that’s not what I meant, Clary Fray. Admit it. You’re in love with him! You’ve had a ridiculous crush on him for years!”

Though she didn’t flinch, her face grew even more red, whether it was from embarrassment or anger, Simon didn’t know. “Not that it’s any of your business but that’s not true! Why do you even care so much? You don’t need to protect me, Simon!”

“Because I love you!” It came out in a strangled shout. He barely noticed that the entire corridor had fallen silent. Simon was focused on Clary. Her chest was heaving but the anger in her eyes was gone. Her little mouth was dropped open into an ‘O’ and she was staring at him as though she had never seen him before.

“Simon,” She whispered, slowly reaching out towards him. “That’s not fair.”  
He backed away, shaking his head, “I have to get to class.” With that he turned and disappeared into the crowds of people, making his way to the Greenhouse. Clary stood in the corridor, for the first time since she had started Hogwarts, feeling truly alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Despite the usual sneers and whispered words, Isabelle managed to keep a smile on her face all day. A genuine, ear to ear grin. She was finally going to be able to speak with her parents and Max about something that didn’t have to do with the investigation. She was going to be able to give them their gift basket and hear directly from them how they were doing. There was no way that she was going to let her peers and a few professors ruin that for her.

She ate dinner in a flash, taking a few bites of her chicken and potatoes and washing it all down with pumpkin juice, Alec and Aline, who sat across from Isabelle, stared at her. A smile crept on her face, excitement dancing in her dark eyes.

"So, Alec, you’re going to come, right?" Isabelle asked, standing to brush at her robes.

“At least for a little bit,” He hurried to say when Isabelle wrinkled her nose at him, “Iz, I have a giant essay for Potions that I need to work on. But of course I’ll say hi to them.

Isabelle wrinkled her nose, “Seriously? With the amount of time you spend in the library, I would have assumed that you’ve finished all your homework for the next few weeks.” She turned to Aline, ignoring the way Alec’s face began to burn a bright red, “Are you joining us? You’re practically family, anyway. I’m sure Mum and Dad would love to see you.”

Aline gave her a small, sincere smile, "I wasn’t planning on it. I’m sure they would rather see you, Alec, and Jace more than me.” When Isabelle opened her mouth to protest, Aline added, “Iz, don’t worry about it. I still have Transfiguration practice that I should do.”

Though she frowned, Isabelle made no argument. She glanced down at Alec, who hadn’t eaten his food in three seconds and was still chewing away. Restless, she scanned the Great Hall before her gaze dropped on Jace. “I,” She said around a grin, “Will be right back.”

Isabelle made her way past the other tables, weaving in and out of students leaving and entering the Hall. She found Jace sitting next to pretty blonde girl that Izzy vaguely recognized from Quidditch tryouts.

“Jace,” Isabelle plopped herself across from the pair, “I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Catching her sarcasm, Jace smirked, “Nothing at all, sister dear. This is Tally,” The blonde smiled from across the table, “And we were just talking Quidditch strategy. She’s our new beater.”

“Well, congrats.”

Tally smiled warmly, cheeks lightly flushing “Thank you,”

“Anyway,” Jace continued, “What brings you over here?”

Isabelle couldn’t help herself from breaking into a large smile, “I wanted to know if you were going to come talk to Mum and Dad tonight. Alec can only go for a bit because he has a paper due on Tuesday that he needs to start-”

“How hasn’t he finished it? Isn’t he always in the library?”

“And,” Isabelle said, ignoring his interruption with a quick flick of her index finger on his chin to shut him up, “I thought it’d be nice if our parents saw all of their children. Besides, Max would be so excited to see you.”

A fond smile replaced his sarcastic smirk, “Of course I’ll go. What time are you planning on going to Professor Gray’s office?”

Isabelle glanced to teachers’ table. Professor Gray seemed to be finished eating but was engrossed in a conversation with Professor Carstairs. She turned back to Jace, trying to swallow a growing smirk, “It seems that Professor Gray is currently busy. But, I have to go get the package from my room anyway, so I’ll meet you by the Gryffindor Common Room in 20 minutes?

Jace nodded, gold eyes sparkling, “See you then, Iz.”

* * *

 

Clary sat in front of the fireplace in the Common Room, trying desperately to focus on her Astronomy textbook and notes, but the only thing she could think of was her and Simon’s fight. Screaming match. Declaration of truth. Whatever it was.

She couldn’t stop replaying the conversation in her head. From her implications that Isabelle could never be friends with him to his final outburst of his love for her. For the duration of their long friendship, she didn’t think she had ever seen him so angry and hurt. And the worst part is, Clary had no idea of his feelings. Looking back, she could see all the hints. All the times that he had been protective of her, the long stares, how he sometimes stuttered and got flustered when she teased him about not having a girlfriend. How could she have been so stupid?

Unable to help herself, a few tears trickled down her face. She was in the process of wiping them off when Jace sauntered in the Common Room, looking extremely pleased with himself. He glanced near the fireplace and did a double take when he saw Clary seated in front of it, surrounded by books and rolls of parchment.

He sat himself across from her, expecting some witty remark from her, but Clary didn’t look up from her book. Without her sharp gaze, he was able to fully take in her appearance. Her hair was disheveled and her cheeks and nose were red. When she sniffed, a pathetic little sound, Jace knit his eyebrows together.

“Hey, are you okay?”

She hastily wiped her hand across her face before looking up, “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jace debated letting this slide, letting Clary pretend that he didn’t walk in on her crying, pretend that everything was okay. However, his concern for her overruled that side, “I don’t know, but typically when someone is crying it means that something is wrong.”

Her face fell and the mask that she had crafted slipped. Her eyes began to water again and she angrily rubbed at them, “It’s stupid, really.”

Jace shrugged, “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”

Clary narrowed her red-rimmed eyes and searched his face, looking for any sign that he was mocking her. Though her and Jace’s friendship had come a long way since September, considering they had never spoken to each other before, the two of them had never had any deep conversations. The closest thing that they had to a deep conversation was Clary passing on her condolences about his parents and assuring him that she thought they were innocent. She sighed, running a hand through her wild hair, “It’s Simon. We got into a huge fight and I’m afraid I just ruined our friendship.”  
Jace maintained a neutral face as he asked, “What happened?”

She shook her head, eyes dropping back to the floor, “I said some pretty horrible things to him. I was just trying to protect him.” She took a ragged breath before continuing, “Then, he said he loved me, and I didn’t say anything back. I didn’t know what to say. He left and I just stood there. God, there was a huge crowd too, so everyone knows.” Jace refained from adding that everyone pretty much knew that Simon was hopelessly in love with her already. “We’ve been friends for so long, but I don’t know if we’re going to be able to recover from this. It just seemed so final.”

Ted Hillcrest made his way into the Common Room, interrupting whatever Jace was going to say, “Uh, sorry if I’m intruding, but Jace, Isabelle’s waiting outside. She wants you to go.” He paused awkwardly, eyes darting back and forth between Clary and Jace, “Now.”

Jace let out a deep breath but stood. He cast an apologetic glance at Clary, ashamed that he was slightly relieved that he was leaving. As much as he wanted to help her, he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have years of being her friend under his belt. What if he said something that made her feel worse? Unrequited love wasn’t really his forte. As he started towards the entrance, he looked back at Clary, pulling her books back towards her and attempting to wipe her eyes discreetly.

Still, he couldn’t not say something, “Hey, Clary,” She looked up, nose still red, “Everything will work out in the end, yeah?”

She flashed him a watery smile before looking back down towards her work. Jace turned back towards the door and headed out, thoughts still on Clary. Isabelle stood in the corridor, out of her uniform and in a tight sweater and jeans. She held the box of presents that they had collected in her hands and she impatiently shifted her weight from foot to foot. Alec stood next to her, hands stuffed in his pockets.

“There you are!” She cried as soon as she saw him. “Here,” Isabelle thrust the box in Jace’s hands before walking towards Professor Gray’s office, “You were taking forever.”

Jace shook his head before trailing after her, Alec falling into step with him, “I was talking to someone. Sorry.”

Isabelle glanced back at him, smiling mischievously, “Was it Clary?” Isabelle let out a sharp bark of laughter when he didn’t reply, “Well, I’m sorry I took you away from her.”

“Don’t worry it, she wasn’t in much of a talking mood,” Jace ignored Isabelle’s snort of laughter, “She was actually pretty upset.”

“Oh?” Isabelle’s voice had taken on a lofty tone, one that usually meant that she wasn’t fully paying attention, “Why?”

“It seems like your friend,” Jace practically spat the word, “Simon, and her got into a fight.”   
Alec winced, knowing that her and Simon’s friendship was a tentative one. “First off,” Isabelle didn’t even turn around but he could hear the thinly veiled annoyance in her voice, “Simon and I aren’t even that close, so don’t act like I’m betraying you. Secondly, it’s really not your concern, Jace. So they had a fight. Big deal. I’m sure they’ll hug and make up within the next week.”

“Izzy, this wasn’t a normal fight.” He dropped his voice, even though the corridor was nearly empty, “He told her he loved her.”

Isabelle froze for a second before continuing her walk, “Shit.”

“Apparently it was very public and very dramatic, from what I gathered.”

“How did she react?”

“Silence.” Isabelle, Jace, and Alec had reached Professor Gray’s door, but neither made a move to enter. “Now, she thinks that she’s messed everything up between them and that they’ll never be friends again.”  
“I mean, it’s definitely going to take a while for the two of them to recover from it.”

Jace shifted the box of presents to one hand to run the other through his hair, “So, what do I do? How do I help her?”

“You don’t, Jace.” Alec spoke up, eyebrows furrowed, “This has nothing to do with you.”

Isabelle nodded, “I’m with Alec on this one.” Though her face remained calm, her voice was sharp, “This is between her and Simon. I know you just want to help, but this isn’t about you. You just met Clary this year. Her and Simon go way back. You trying to get involved would not end well. If she wants to talk to about it, listen. But other than that, just leave them be.”

Before Jace was able to reply, Isabelle knocked on Professor Gray’s door. It swung open and Isabelle strode inside without another word to Jace. Alec gave Jace an apologetic shrug before walking in after his sister. Jace followed the pair, rolling his eyes. Professor Gray was seated behind her desk, a stack of parchment piled in front of her. Nevertheless, she smiled warmly at the siblings

“Thank you again for letting us use your fireplace, Professor.” Isabelle said.

“Of course,” Gray pushed a small gold box towards the siblings, “This is where I keep my Floo powder. I’m just going to be grading papers, unless you’d prefer I left you three alone..?”

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle exchanged a glance. Of all the teachers in Hogwarts, they knew that Professor Gray had been the most helpful to Lightwoods. She banned anyone from discussing the investigations in class and continuously made sure that the Lightwood kids were doing okay.

Alec was the first to speak, “I don’t have a problem with it.”

“You two both know I don’t have a problem with it either.” Isabelle shifted her gaze to Jace.

“Nor do I.” Jace added quickly. Though he and the Transfiguration teacher weren’t close, he  appreciated everything that she had been doing for Isabelle in the past few months.

She beamed at them, “Well, alright then. I’ll just be here. If you need anything or need me to leave, just let me know.”

Tessa pulled her chair closer to the desk and began reading the first paper. For a moment, none of the Lightwoods moved. Then, Isabelle grabbed a handful of Floo powder and sat in front of the fireplace. Alec and Jace joined her, placing the package between them. Again, they stilled.

“Am I the only one feeling nervous?” Isabelle whispered.

“No, I’m definitely feeling the nerves too.” Jace. replied, staring into the flickering flames, “Might as well just throw the powder in. We’re not doing any good just sitting here.”

Isabelle cleared her throat before saying, “16 Rose Hollow, Idris.”, and tossing the powder in the fire. The flames flickered green and crackled for a moment before showing the living room of the Lightwood manor. Isabelle’s heart lurched at the sight. Max, who was curled up in a large armchair reading a book, didn’t notice his siblings at first. When he did, the smile on his face lit up the room. He scrambled off the chair, dropping his book in the process, and hastily made his way to the fireplace.

“Jace! Isabelle! Alec!” Max cried, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Hey, Max.” Jace smiled warmly at him.

Isabelle beamed at her younger brother before asking gently, “How have you been?” How are things around the house?”

Max dropped his gaze, “It’s been lonely. They pulled me out of school. And Mum and Dad are always in their office or writing letters or doing something. They’re not happy.”

The three older siblings exchanged a pained glance. Alec asked, “How much do you know, Max? Do you know why you were pulled out of school?”  
He shifted slightly and pushed up his glasses, “I know that it has something to do with work. I’ve asked like, 100 times, but they won’t tell me anymore than that. Do you know what’s going on?” When Isabelle bit her lip, Max gasped, “You do! What is it?”

“Max, if we could tell you, we would,” Jace swiftly answered, “But, if Mum and Dad haven’t told you, I don’t think they’d be happy if we told you.”

“But,” Isabelle cut in, wanting to see Max smile again, “We have gifts!”

Max beamed, “For me?”

Alec laughed, “And Mum and Dad. Why don’t you run and get them?” Max practically hopped up and ran out of the library, eager to tell his parents that his siblings were waiting in the fireplace for them. Once Jace was sure that Max was out of earshot, he turned to Alec and Izzy with a horrified look, “He has no idea. About any of this.”

Absently playing with a thread in his sweater, Alec slowly said, “I mean, it kind of makes sense. He is only 9, Jace.”

“It’s happening to him too! This isn’t some random event that happening across the country. This is directly affecting him. He doesn’t even know why he’s been pulled out of school.”

Alec shrugged, “I know, Jace. I know. But we can’t tell him. It’s not our place.”

Jace answered with a long sigh.

Despite their unhappy conversation, the three of them cheered up when they saw Max dragging Maryse and Robert Lightwood into the library. As their parents sat down in front of the fire, Isabelle was able to examine them for the first time since she had left for school. Both Robert and Maryse looked exhausted. They were pale and had bags under their eyes. Squinting, Isabelle noticed that her mother, who was naturally a thin woman, had lost weight.

Even so, Maryse gave them a small but genuine smile, “My children. We’ve missed you.”

Though she’d never admit it out loud, Isabelle teared up when she heard her mother’s voice. There was nothing more that she wanted than to just have this whole mess behind them, have her parents back at their job, and Max in school. Not being able to help in any way was frustrating her more than anything else had previously.

“We’ve missed you too,” Jace quickly said, his voice quivering just slightly. When their Mother asked how Hogwarts was treating them, Isabelle sat silently as her brothers discussed the year so far. She had been wanting to see them for so long but now that they were in front of her, she didn’t know what to say.

Maryse sighed, “At least you’ve been able to focus. We’ve been worried that you would be too distracted with everything going on here that you wouldn’t be able to concentrate on school. You three aren’t too worried about everything here, are you? School is your first and foremost prioritary right now.”  
“We’ve been fine, Mother.” Isabelle said, finally speaking up. She ignored the sharp look that Jace gave her. Fine might not be the right word to describe how they were doing, but it would set her mother at ease. Though she might already worry incessantly, Isabelle knew that Maryse did not need something to stress about in her life. The Lightwood kids were doing fine academically, as it was. Isabelle, at least, was throwing herself into her schoolwork more than usual, hoping it would be a good distraction from the investigation. Besides, it was worth seeing her mother’s shoulders sag slightly with relief.

Maryse smiled tightly, “Good. We Lightwoods will pull through. Anyway, Max mentioned that you had something you wanted to give us?”

“Presents?” Max asked, wide-eyed behind his glasses.

Jace chuckled, “Yes, Max. Presents.” He pulled the box that sat in between him and Alec towards him. Jace took the bag that contained Max’s candy- chocolate frogs, Fizzing Whisbees, Drooble’s gum and Bertie Box’s beans- and place it in the fireplace. In an instant, the fire distorted their family’s faces by turning everything green. The green fire died out and on Max’s side, the bag popped out of their fireplace.

Max gasped and grabbed the bag, opening it excitedly. With every piece of candy he pulled out, his grin grew. “Wow! Thanks Jace! And Alec and Izzy!” He said, already opening a container of the flavored beans.

Isabelle smiled, the knot in her chest loosening, “There’s more, Max.” He froze, hand halfway to his mouth. She pulled out a book that she had bought on an impulse for him. She placed it in the fireplace and watched eagerly as he read the title out loud.

“Hogwarts: A History.” He looked up, “Didn’t you have to read this for school?”

“It’s mandatory for 1st years, yeah. But, I figured you’d like it. And in two years, when you start going here, you’ll be way ahead of everyone else.” She added with a wink.

He beamed, flipping through the pages, “Thank you!”

Maryse watched her youngest child with sad eyes, “Why don’t you go start reading it and let us talk to your older siblings in private?” He nodded, thanking his siblings one last time. Then, he walked back to the armchair that he had originally been sitting in, nose buried in his new book.

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle quickly gave Robert and Maryse their gifts: respective candy for each of them, the stationary, firewhisky and butterbeer.

“Thank you. Honestly, we cannot tell you how much these gifts mean to us,” Robert said, stroking the spine of the book that Isabelle had picked out for him.

“Of course,” Jace said. He paused before asking, “So, are we really not allowed to come home for Christmas?”

Maryse frowned, her eyebrows creasing together, “Oh, we want you three to come home. We really do. But we are under house arrest. There’s no way that we can pick you up. And,” She added when Alec opened his mouth, “I don’t feel comfortable with you guys trying to side-apparate alongside Alec. I’m sorry, my loves.”

Isabelle felt the knot return, getting even tighter than it was before. She jumped when she heard a chair scraping against the hardwood floor, having forgotten that Professor Gray was in the room. The young professor walked around her desk and stood in front of the fireplace.

“If you don’t mind, may I speak to your parents?” She politely asked her students. They nodded silently, wondering what she was planning on saying.

Gray sat down in front of the fire, cloak pooling around her, “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Lightwood. My name is Tessa Gray, I’m the current Transfiguration professor. I couldn’t help but overhear your predicament and I’d like to offer to help.”

Robert and Maryse’s expressions of shock matched Alec, Jace and Isabelle’s. Robert recovered first, “Excuse me? What do you mean?”

She smiled warmly, “I don’t believe that you and your wife are behind the attacks. Neither does Headmistress Branwell and we both want to help.”

“But how?” Maryse asked, blue eyes narrowed.

“Floo powder.” Tessa’s smile grew to a grin, “Just have Alec, Jace, and Isabelle floo over once the holidays start. That way, you aren’t breaking your house arrest and you don’t have to worry about them getting from King’s Cross to your home.”

The Lightwoods’ exchanged a glance, “We’d have to discuss it...” Maryse started, slowly.

“But” Robert interjected, “It seems like it could work.”

Tessa nodded, sombering, “Of course, I’d have to speak to Headmistress Branwell. I’m sure it will be fine, but I’ll send a letter letting you know of her decision.” She smiled at the three students before standing and going back to her desk.

Isabelle beamed at her parents, “So, it looks like we will be home for Christmas after all!”

“Might be home for the holidays.” Robert corrected. He added, seeing her face fall, “We just don’t want you to get your hopes up too high.”

Isabelle nodded, even though it was too late. Now that she knew that it may be a possibility, she had her heart set on spending Christmas with her family. In her house. Away from the judgement of the rest of the wizarding society

Maryse sighed, “As wonderful as it has been talking to all of you, I think it’s best if we end on this note. I’m sure you have homework and studying that you need to do.” Though she smiled at her children, the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, “We love you all very much. If all things work out, hopefully we’ll see you soon.”

The Lightwoods bid their goodbyes and sent their love before severing the Floo Powder connection. They thanked Professor Gray, who smiled and winked at them, before stepping into the corridor. Jace walked ahead of  Alec and Isabelle and let out a bark of laughter. When he turned back to them, his whole face was lit up with a grin.

“We might be going home for the holidays.”

Isabelle laughed; his joy was contagious, “I know, Jace! I was there too.”

Jace glanced at Alec, who was watching his siblings warily, “Oh come on Alec. Like that wasn’t the best news you’ve heard in a while.”  
“I just don’t want to get my hopes up and have it not happen.” Alec hesitated before a grin crept onto his lips, “But, it would be nice to go home over holiday.”

Jace ran his hands through his hair, “And did you see how happy Max was to see us? And how much he loved the gifts? We have to thank Aline for that idea, it was brilliant!”

“Yeah, it really was.” Isabelle stopped smiling, “But did you see how lonely he is? This is a lot worse than we thought, guys.” Jace slowed his pace to match hers and Alecs, “We need to go home. Max needs more interaction than just our parents everyday. It doesn’t sound like he even gets much time with them.”  
Alec put a hand on her shoulder, “Iz. It’ll be okay. Once this investigation finally shows that they’re innocent, Max is going to able to go back to school. He’ll see all his friends and this will be nothing more than an old memory. Don’t worry. Things will go back to normal soon. I promise.”  
She glanced at him, “Thanks. I hope you’re right. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go to the library. I need to pick up a book for my Astronomy paper. See you two later” She headed down the corridor to the left. A few seconds later Jace caught up to her.

“So, I was thinking about what you said. About Clary.”

Isabelle shook her head slightly. Clary must have really made an impact on the boy if he was still thinking about her during their conversation with Maryse and Robert. “Yes?”

“I know you don’t want me to say anything to her...but what about you? Look,” He said when Isabelle just stared at him, “I know that you’re actually friends with her and it seems like you and Lewis are pretty close. You didn’t see Clary, Iz. She looked like she just needed a friend.”

She bit her lip, “Fine. I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow. But only to stop you from doing something stupid. Like opening your mouth or trying to be ‘helpful’”

Jace grinned, “Thank you, Isabelle. Now go find your book.” Isabelle rolled her eyes but parted ways with her brother with a smile on her face.

* * *

 

After searching the library for a good ten minutes, Isabelle came to the conclusion that the book she needed was, in fact, not there. She bit her lip, cursing the mandatory enrollment for all 5th years.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Simon sitting alone at a table, hunched over a sheet of parchment. Her lips quirked upwards and she found herself making her way to him and sitting down next to him. He looked up, startled, but then relaxed when he saw it was Isabelle.

“Oh, hey. What’s up?” Before she could answer, he continued, “Oh wait, today is Friday. Didn’t you say that you were going to try to talk to your parents today?”

Isabelle didn’t even try to hide the amused grin that grew on her face, “Yeah, all of us were able to talk to them. Professor Gray ended up letting us use her office. It was really nice being able to see everyone, you know? Especially with everything that’s going on.”

“And how was the care package received?”

“Really well. Everyone loved their gifts.” She paused, “Thank you, again, for helping with it. It meant a lot to me.”

“No problem.” He smiled and glanced at his watch, “Is it really 9:00?” When Isabelle nodded, he leaned back in his chair and groaned, “I’ve been in here since dinner. I should probably head back to the Common Room.”

When he made no attempt at packing up his supplies, Isabelle casually asked, “So, are you hiding from Clary?”

Simon buried his head in his hands, “You heard about that?”

Knowing that Simon and Jace’s relationship was rocky at best, she merely said, “That’s what happens when you have a huge fight with your best friend in the middle of a corridor.”

They sat in silence before Simon sighed, “I just don’t know what to do. I want to apologize and have things go back to normal I can’t. Everything I said to her was true.”

Isabelle shrugged, “I can’t tell you how to fix this mess. You two know each other best and you two are the only ones who can fix whatever is going on.”  
“Isabelle, I told her that I loved her. I told her and she didn’t say anything. She just stared at me and it was horrible and embarrassing.” His voice cracked slightly and Isabelle found herself frowning.

“I’m sorry, Simon.”

He shrugged then laughed bitterly, “Yeah well...there isn’t anything you can do. You’re right. This is between me and Clary. Tell me about your talk with your parents. Or how Quidditch is going. Just help me get my mind off this stupid fight, please.”

She eyed him for a moment, weighing her options before giving in.

She told him all about her conversation with Max and her parents. They talked about her Quidditch practices and swapped stories from their classes. They talked until curfew, both trying to forget what had been bothering them.


	8. Chapter 8

In her excitement over getting to talk to her parents, Isabelle had left a regrettable amount of homework until the weekend and was unable to follow through on her promise to Jace regarding Clary. It wasn’t until Tuesday in their History of Magic class that she was able to spare a minute. By the time Isabelle had arrived (not late, thank you very much), the ginger had already found a seat near the front. Normally, Isabelle sat with Aline but seeing Clary look so sad and little, Isabelle dropped her school bag on the table next to her.

Clary looked up at Isabelle, her shock thinly veiled. Isabelle smiled at her, hoping it seemed warm and genuine. Professor Starkweather, at that moment, called for the class to settle down, they had a lot of work to cover.

Isabelle listened, tapping her quill against the desk before she decided she couldn’t wait to talk with Clary until after class. She quickly grabbed a spare roll of parchment and scribbled, _“So, I heard about you and Simon. I’m sorry._ ” before passing it to the right.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her companion grimace. Without even looking down, Clary quickly wrote back, _“Yeah. Well. I am too.”_

_“Have you told him that you’re sorry?”_

Clary’s quill scratched furiously at the parchment, _“I didn’t start this. When he decides to stop being over dramatic about everything and actually talk to me instead of getting defensive, then I’ll apologize. I’m not the only one at fault here.”_

Isabelle shook her head slightly; typical stubborn Gryffindor. Isabelle bit her lip before responding, completely ignoring Starkweather’s lecture. She considered her and Clary friends but she didn’t want to overstep any boundaries and say something that would hurt the girl. _“I see. Do you want to talk about it?”_

_“No.”_

Isabelle left the parchment there, not wanting to push Clary. She was almost absorbed listening to the professor when she heard Clary rustling the parchment and writing on it.

_“He told me he loved me, Isabelle.”_

This was now the third time that someone told Isabelle about what happened on Friday. _“Oh wow. What did you say?”_

Clary let out a long sigh, _“Nothing. I know it’s terrible and I feel like a horrible ~~friend~~ person for it. But it caught me off guard and then he stormed off.”_

_“How do you feel about it? Do you love him?”_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clary put her quill to the parchment and pick it up several times, biting her lip.

“Ladies,” Professor Starkweather fixed Clary and Isabelle with a sharp look and glance at the parchment that sat in front of Clary. “I do hope those are notes on the Goblin Unrest of 1793 that you two are passing back and forth.”

Isabelle beamed, “Of course. I missed a date and asked Clary if I could copy something down. That’s all.”

Starkweather narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, “Be sure to pay better attention in class, Miss Lightwood. Wouldn’t want someone to get the wrong impression.” Isabelle nodded, still smiling brightly. She scowled at his back the second he turned around. However, the two girls had no other choice but to return to their notes and trying to keep up with Starkweather’s lecture.

When he had (finally) finished droning on, there was a flurry of sound and movement as everyone tried to pack up as fast as they could. Clary finished putting her supplies away before Isabelle did and practically ran out the room, her robes brushing past Isabelle in a flurry.

Isabelle swore under her breath as she threw the last of her things in her bag and took off after Clary. She spotted the short ginger in the crowd of students and quickly called out her name, her voice echoing off the stone walls and making a few people turn to see what the commotion was. Clary waited for her, fiddling with the strap of her school bag as the taller girl moved through the crowd to reach her.

“Where do you think you’re going? We weren’t done talking,” Isabelle tried to keep her voice light and friendly, knowing her words could be misinterpreted.

Clary’s eyes were bright and innocent as she looked up at Iz, “I have Charms.”

“Well I have Transfiguration. I’ll walk with you for a bit.” Professor Gray’s classroom was in the same general area as Professor’s Carstairs, though not on the same floor. Clary smiled at her and the two walked in amicable silence, drawing a few stares from passersby.

Isabelle was the first to break it, “You never answered my question.”

“It’s a complicated question, Isabelle.” Clary protested, biting at her lower lip again.

“It’s really not. You either love him or you don’t.” She continued gently, “And in my experience, if you think it’s complicated or you can’t automatically say yes, it usually means you don’t love them, Clary.”

She tugged absently on her curls, “The thing is, I do love him, Iz. I’ve known him since I was kid; we grew up together. He’s an amazing person and there’s no reason for me not be in love with him.” She looked up at Isabelle, “But I’m not. I love him like a brother, like another part of me. And I never want to lose that. But I don’t _love_ him.”

Isabelle stopped walking to look at Clary. Frustration rolled off of her in waves and if Isabelle was correct, tears were filling her new friend’s large green eyes.

Hesitating for only a moment, Isabelle moved forward and embraced Clary in a hug. Taken back, it took Clary a second to respond; she wrapped her arms around the taller girl, grateful for the comfort. Clary finally pulled away, slightly sniffling.

“I really need to get it together,” Clary said with a wet laugh.

Isabelle threw her a smile, “You’ll get through this. Trust me. You’re a lot stronger than you think. Besides,” She said in a stage whisper, “If you ever want to get back at him for not apologizing, just let me know and I will give you the Isabelle Lightwood makeover, guaranteed to make any guy drop at your feet and grovel. Just say the word and consider it done.”

Clary’s laugh was brighter, somehow more full than her last one. Isabelle beamed. “I may have to take you up on that offer, Iz.”  
“And I’ll hold you to it,” Isabelle’s smile softened, “I have to get to class, unfortunately.” She turned to go, with a brief wave, before Clary caught her arm.

“Thank you. For listening to me and dealing with,” She gestured vaguely, “With all this.”

“Anytime, Clary.” She turned and headed down the hallway, shaking her head a bit. If someone had told Isabelle that she would become friends with Clary Fray this year, she probably would have laughed in their face and asked who Clary was. But here she was. Friends with Clary. Isabelle couldn’t help but be grateful for having the petite redhead in her life; she had been known to reem anyone out who she overheard bad mouthing the Lightwoods. Clary had quickly wormed her way into Isabelle’s life and quite frankly, Isabelle didn’t want to her to leave it any time soon.

* * *

A few hours later, Jace sat in the library, books sprawled around him, writing his Herbology paper. But did it count as writing an essay if he spent more time people watching than putting quill to parchment? He shook himself slightly, trying to regroup his thoughts and focus them on the properties of Niffler’s Fancy.

Just as he started making headway with the paper, Isabelle sat down in front of him, tapping the tabletop in front of him rapidly. Without looking up, though his quill slowed, “Yes, Isabelle?”

She huffed, “Are you really not even going to look up from whatever it is you’re writing?”  
“It’s pretty important.”

Isabelle snorted, “Is it a _love note_ to Clary?”

“It’s actually an essay for a class, Iz.” Jace finally looked up, pinning her with a glare and scowl to match.

His stare didn’t dampen her bright smile, “Well, what I have to say is pretty important too, so I would appreciate your full attention.” She paused, pointedly adding when he set down his quill, “Thank you.”

“So,” Jace drawled, stretching his arms behind him, “What is so important that you couldn’t wait to tell me?”

He didn’t know how it was possible, but Isabelle’s smile somehow got even larger, “I got the official letter from Mum and Dad today,” She held up a slightly crumpled sheet of parchment, “We’re going home over holiday break!”

Completely forgetting that he was in a library, he stood and walked around the table, laughing loudly, and gave Isabelle a hug, swinging her around. Isabelle joined in on his laugher, doing a spirited dance. Head Librarian Enoch made his way over to the siblings, his face stoic and grave.

“Mr. Wayland and Miss Lightwood, need I remind you both that you are in a library?” He raised a pale eyebrow at the pair.

Isabelle tried to stifle her grin, “Sorry, sir. We’ll be leaving right away.” She bounced on the heels of her feet as Jace packed up his parchment and quills before they walked out of the library. Still feeling Librarian Enoch’s gaze, Isabelle waited until they were a corridor down before turning to Jace.

He turned to her, “You’re serious, right? This isn’t some terrible prank that you came up with to get me out of the library?”

Isabelle shoved the piece of paper in Jace’s hand, her smile appearing again. She watched Jace scan the letter, his own smile growing. “Jace, I wouldn’t lie about this. It’s true. We’re going home for break.”

“Have you told Alec yet?”

Isabelle shook her head, “I just had a chance to read the letter. I’m on my way to go talk to him; he’s helping decorate the Great Hall for Christmas. You want to join me?”

“I wish, Iz. I really need to finish this essay.” Regret filled his voice, “But, we should all talk about what we want to get Mum and Dad for Christmas this year. I think it should be something special, you know?”

“Yeah, I understand.” Isabelle said quietly.

Jace handed her back the letter, “It’ll be okay, Iz. One more month, yeah.”

She smiled brilliantly, “Right. Exactly. Well I’m off to find Alec. Good luck with your essay.”

With a short wave, she was off down the hallway, clutching the letter to her chest. Jace beamed. Home. They were really going home for the holidays.

* * *

 

Alec was never really one for decorating things for the holidays. At the Lightwood manor, he would find something else to do once Maryse brought out the boxes of decoration. Being at Hogwarts was no different; he would avoid the Great Hall when he knew the tree was going up.

This year, Professor Bane was leading the decorating. For the first time in his seven years at the school, Alec found himself in the Hall helping hang the garland and mistletoe. Though Christmas wasn’t for another month, many students were singing carols, Bane’s voice louder than anyone else's. His off-key rendition of _Merlin Got Run Over By a Reindeer_ put a grin on Alec’s face and if he quietly sang a few verses too...well, that was his business.

Bane glanced over at Alec, eyes dancing with merriment, “Excellent placement of the baubles, Alec! You have a real knack for this!”

He ducked his head to hide the growing red on his cheeks when a low voice murmured, “Those aren’t the only baubles he likes,”

Alec choked on air, much to Isabelle’s amusement. Bane looked over with mild concern, “Everything alright over there? Oh, it’s nice to see you here, Isabelle.”

She waved, a grin plastered on her face, “Hello Professor Bane.”

Alec tugged on her waving hand, face still red, “Iz. What the hell?”

“Come on, you know I’m just teasing.” When he glanced around at the other students, her face softened, “No one heard, Alec. I promise.”

“So, what’s up?” At Isabelle’s eyebrow raise, he added, “Well, are you really here to decorate the Hall?”  
“And you are?”

He matched her skeptical look.

Isabelle was the first to smile, “Alright, alright. You’re right, I did come with news.” She paused, “Mum and Father said we can go home for Christmas! They worked it all out!”

Alec nearly dropped the ornament that he had been levitating, “Seriously?”  
She whipped out the letter from her pocket. It was already looking worn out from how often Isabelle reread it or showed someone it. She couldn’t contain her excitement as her brother read the letter, a bubble of laughter rising in her. When Alec looked up, his eyes were wide and filled with something that resembled wonder.

“We’re going home.” Disbelief colored his voice.

Isabelle practically sang her answer, “Yes, we’re going home.”  

Bane practically waltzed over to the siblings, picking up on their good moods, “Everything already?”

“Everything is perfect, Professor,” Isabelle said, beaming at both her brother and Bane, “Everything is perfect.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, as usual, for the delay. However, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Thanks again to my brilliant beta, Mandy. xx

Between exams, quidditch practices, and last minute gift shopping, the winter holiday came up a lot quicker than Isabelle had expected. That’s what she told herself anyways, while she hurriedly shoved the last of her clothes and toiletries in her suitcase, mere hours before her train departure, having long ago given up all sense of organization.

A light knock on the door interrupted Isabelle’s packing. She let out a frustrated sigh before stomping over to the door and swinging it open, “What?”

Clary stood in front of the door, bewildered, one hand still half raised from her knock, “Hi...is this a bad time?”

“Oh, hi!” Isabelle’s scowl formed into a bright smile and she pulled Clary into the room. She saw her friend warily eye the clothes strewn across the floor, “You can stay but we’re going to have to talk as I pack.”

Clary sat down on the edge of Izzy’s bed, careful not to sit on any discarded sweaters, “Did you just start packing today?”

“That is neither here nor there,” Isabelle said as she shoved a small handful of clothes into the bag.

“I just wanted to stop by before I left. To say goodbye and,” Clary rummaged around in her bag, a small cheeky smile on her face as she removed something from its depths, “To give you this.”

With wide eyes, Isabelle turned towards Clary, who held a wrapped parcel in her hands. Unable to speak, Isabelle carefully took the present from her and unwrapped it. Clary beamed as the other girl unwrapped a vibrant red scarf, made of the softest material she had ever felt.. Isabelle looked at the scarf, a warm feeling growing in her chest.

“Clary, I love it. Thank you.” Her voice felt thick. Isabelle had never been one to have close friends. At least, not ones like Clary, who came out of their way just to say goodbye. None that kept her sane in the craziness that was becoming her life.

Clary’s cheeks dimpled and her smile grew even wider, if that was possible, “I’m so glad you like it. I saw that it matched your necklace that you always wear and knew I had to get it for you. And,” She added, “If anyone could pull off such a bright color, it would be you.”

Isabelle laughed, feeling lighter than she had all semester. She set the scarf gently down on her suitcase and walked to her dresser, pulling out a wrapped gift for Clary, “Can’t let you have all the fun, can I?”

She handed the package to Clary, pulling back as soon as the other girl held it. Clary made quick work in unwrapping the gift, not even trying to hide her excitement. Isabelle watched, a bit nervous about her new friends reaction to the gift.

Clary’s small gasp brought a smile to Isabelle’s face. Clary clutched her new leather sketchbook closely to her chest, beaming at Izzy, “This is beautiful. When did you get this?”

“A while ago,” Isabelle shrugged. While she was shopping for her family’s holiday gifts, she had seen the sketchbook and instantly thought of Clary. The girl’s current book looked like it had seen better days. The bindings looked like they were about to fall apart and the cover itself was ripping in certain places. Isabelle thought that this new sketchbook looked much more professional, especially with the engraving of Clary’s name on the bottom of the cover.

“Iz, thank you.” Clary’s large eyes were shining. She pulled Isabelle into a tight hug, trying to communicate how grateful she was that they were now friends.

Isabelle was the first to pull away but she was beaming, “Just be sure to draw me a wonderful portrait over break, yeah?” Clary nodded, absently thumbing the sketchbook. “Now, as much as I enjoy having you up here, you either need to help me pack or leave.”

Clary glanced at her watch, thinking of her own small piles of unpacked belongings, “No, you’re right, I do need to go. Gotta go catch the train.” She paused before walking to the door, “Have a great holiday, Isabelle. I hope it is fantastic.”

***

Tessa glanced at the three children in her office, as she moved about the room.  The Lightwoods had their bags packed and were whispering among themselves. Despite their quiet voices, Tessa could sense the giddiness radiating off of them. She smiled to herself as she readied the fire.  It was nice to finally see the kids with a little light in their eyes.

“Alright,” She turned back to face them once the fire was blazing, “It’s ready. Would I be correct in assuming that you all are familiar with traveling by Floo?”

The Lightwoods all nodded, exchanging smirks between them. Tessa shook her head slightly; she did not want to even imagine the kind of trouble they got into before coming to Hogwarts, their poor parents. She cleared her throat before continuing, “Alright, then you all best be on your way. I’m sure your parents are eagerly waiting for you.”

Isabelle stepped forward and gave Tessa a quick hug, “Thank you for everything you’ve done, Professor Gray. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it has meant to us. To me.”

Tessa smiled, “Anything to help, my dear. Just...be careful when you’re home, understand? Things are different now. Everyone is on edge because of these murders. There’s no telling what people are willing to do.”

The professor paused before holding out her little box of powder, “I think it’s time. I hope you have a lovely holiday.”

Alec stepped forward, toting his large bag behind him. He murmured a quiet, yet sincere “Thank you” to Tessa before throwing the powder into the flames. He stepped into the green flames, a bright smile on his face.

Jace followed his brother, holding not only his bag but the one that contained all of the gifts for the family. He gave a short wave to Tessa before disappearing into the flames.

Isabelle turned to Tessa before she climbed in the fireplace, “I meant it when I said we can’t express how much it means to have you help us go home.”

Tessa smiled warmly, “I know, dear. You don’t need to thank me anymore.” Isabelle made no effort to move. “It’s time to see your family, Isabelle.”

Isabelle turned to Tessa, panic evident in her dark eyes. She hesitated before the words tumbled out, “What if you’re right? What if things are completely different now and going home isn’t the same? I mean, we haven’t really seen them since all this nonsense started.”  
“Isabelle,” Tessa let out a quiet sigh, “Things aren’t going to be the same. But that doesn’t mean that it will ruin your holiday. The rumors going around are not going to affect the way you all celebrate. I’m sure it will be that much better, in fact, since you will all be together to face the world together.”

The girl nodded firmly, despite the crease that lingered between her brows. She thanked Gray again and before she could second guess herself again, grabbed a handful of powder. Isabelle stepped into the fireplace, and threw her powder. The last thing she saw before the green flames devoured her vision was Tessa smiling sadly at her.

***

“Izzy!” She had only a second to react before Max threw himself at her, wrapping his small arms around her waist in a hug.

She let out a loud laugh, the knot of tension in her chest easing, “Hey, Max!”

Maryse stepped forward from where she had been embracing Jace, “Welcome home, Isabelle.”

Isabelle gently untangled Max’s arm from around her and moved to hug Maryse, “Hello, Mum. Happy Christmas.”

Maryse kissed her cheek, “Happy Christmas, my dear.” She pulled back, a sad smile gracing her face, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Isabelle adjusted her bag on her shoulder and looked around, “Where’s Dad?”

Max spoke, still hovering near Isabelle, “He’s in the study. He’s been in there all day.” Isabelle glanced up at Maryse, who merely gave her a tight smile.

“Why don’t you drop your things in your room? We can sit down and have nice family meal when you’re all settled?” Maryse suggested. Though she was unsure if her mother genuinely wanted to give her time to settle or if she was merely avoiding discussing why their father spent the entire day in the study, Isabelle simply nodded before picking up her bags.

Isabelle made her way through the familiar hallways, ones she could probably navigate through in her sleep. She trailed her fingers along the walls as she walked, relishing in the different bumps and curves that came from the hardwood detail. It was funny; she had never missed the Lightwood Manor in all her years at Hogwarts. She barely missed her family, aside from maybe Max. There had always been too much to do, too many adventures to be had to miss home. But now that Isabelle was back home, she wanted to take it all in, appreciate every little detail in the house that she had overlooked before. She shook her head as she reached her room. No matter how much she loved their home, Isabelle couldn’t imagine being stuck inside the grounds for months on end.

She opened the door with a grin. Her bedroom, the dark walls glittering like the night sky, was exactly the way she had left it. Down to the pile of clothes that Izzy had neglected to properly put away before she left for school. Though she loved the girls that she shared a dorm with at school, nothing could top her personal space at home. She took a deep breath before dropping her bags on the floor.

There really wasn’t anywhere quite like home and right now, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

***

For the past five years, Clary and Simon spent the winter train ride together, both teeming with excitement to be away from schoolwork for just a little bit. It was tradition for them to exchange Christmas gifts with each other during the last ten minutes on the train. However, this year the pair of friends sat in separate compartments. As Clary was boarding, she saw Simon sitting with a group of Hufflepuffs, laughing as though nothing was wrong in the world.

Absently, she fingered the wrapped gift in her purse. She had spent months looking for some sort of wizard comic that Simon could add to his ever-growing collection. Luckily, tucked away in a back corner of Tomes and Scrolls, was a magical version of Simon’s favorite muggle comic, where the comic strips moved the same way that magical pictures did.

“Hey, are you alright?” Tally Nu asked, taking notice of Clary’s unusual quietness.

Clary glanced up, forgetting that she was surrounded by other people for a second. She sat in a train compartment with most of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Ted, Helene, and Gale were all in the midst of an animated conversation and Maia was scribbling away in a journal. Tally, who had been alternating between dozing off and talking with the others gave the older girl a look of concern.

“I’m good.”

Tally bit her lip and hesitated before asking, “Is it the whole Simon thing?”

Clary shifted in her seat, well aware of quiet that settled over the compartment. Maia spoke up, leaning forwards, “We’re not blind, Clary. We’ve all noticed how much this has been affecting you.”

“I’m f-” Clary started but Maia cut her off with a scoff.

“You’re not fine, Clary. You’re not.” Clary’s face dropped at her harsh tone and Maia’s gaze softened, “And it’s fine that you’re not okay. No one is upset with you for that. But we would at least think that you would lean on us if you’re going having a hard time.

“We’re your teammates, Clary. We’re your _family_.”  

Clary looked around the compartment; Maia was staring earnestly at her while the other four gave her sheepish, but sincere smiles. Tally nudged her gently.

She cleared her throat, surprised by the familiar prickling of tears in her eyes, “I don’t really know what to say. But thank you. I’m sorry I’ve been distant lately. And I’m sorry for not coming to you guys. I guess I’m just so used to it just being me and Simon that I forgot I have other people. That I have you guys.”

Any tension that was in the compartment lifted and Maia beamed, “Then get over here. If I remember correctly, you still owe me a game of Exploding Snap.”

Clary laughed as Ted called playing winner, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. Things may be different this year, but she supposes that it doesn’t mean that she needed to be miserable. Especially when you had such amazing friends.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK I REALLY HAVE NO EXCUSE (jk university is kicking my ass and so is work but oh well). I will do my best not to ever leave that long of a break between chapters. 
> 
> Once again, a huge huge thank you to my beta Mandy. Without her, this story would not be where it is today. Thank you. 
> 
> And a huge thank you guys who are reading this. It means the world to me xx

The living room was a disaster; wrapping paper was strewn about the room, tinsel lay on the floor from where the family cat had decided to play with it, and piles of each family member’s gifts took up their own section of the room. The Lightwoods sat among the chaos, enjoying their traditional post-gift opening tea and biscuits. It was warm and familiar and the kids could almost pretend like there was not a murder investigation wasn’t going on. It wasn’t until Max asked when the family would be going shopping the next day that the real chaos began.

“We can’t just not go shopping! It’s a sacred tradition!” Isabelle proclaimed, shooting glares at both her parents when they announced that there would be no Boxing Day shopping trip. Their eldest daughter’s hands were firmly placed on her hips and her expression warned of an argument that wouldn’t be dropped.

Robert rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh, “We are on lockdown, Isabelle. We are not allowed to leave our house. How would it look if we went galavanting in the village, clearly breaking Ministry orders?”

“So what if we took Max and went? Just us four?” Jace casually asked, leaning back on his hands. Despite his off-handed nature, his eyes were narrowed, carefully watching his parent’s faces , trying to gauge their reactions.

Maryse answered before her husband, “You three aren’t supposed to be here. We cannot draw attention to ourselves.” She paused and looked at her children sadly, “I’m sorry.”

“What if just one of us took Max out?” When no one argued against him, Alec continued a bit more forcefully while Isabelle continued scowling, “I mean, then we wouldn’t really be drawing attention to ourselves if it’s just two of us and it’s not like Max has been banned from leaving the house.”

Maryse and Robert exchanged a wary glance. Robert spoke slowly, after a tense moment of silent, “I suppose that could work...but you could only spend a few hours out in town. It can’t be the usual all day event.”

“You wouldn’t be able to dawdle about,” Maryse added her lips pulled tight, “You would have to go straight to the shops and come back as soon as you’re all finished.”

The kids nodded eagerly, matching grins growing on their faces. It didn’t matter that there were now rules accompanying the day, the prospect of being able to go out in the village was worth it. A warm silence back fell over the Lightwood Clan as they simply enjoyed their morning together. The time to decide who would go into the village would come later. Right now, the only thing that was important was spending their Christmas morning together as normally as possible.

***

The next morning, Isabelle and Max found themselves trekking through the snow to the village. It was a longer, but easy walk. Isabelle laughed as Max ran ahead, trying to catch as many snowflakes on his tongue that he possible could.

Once again, Isabelle thanked her lucky stars that Alec and Jace had let her take Max into town and spend the day with him. She wasn’t sure if they were fully aware of how much the investigation was taking a toll on her. Granted, she wasn’t sure exactly how they were coping but she was pretty sure that her brothers weren’t having weekly meetings with their professors because they were worried about them. It didn’t bother her too much- she loved having tea with Professor Gray- but it probably wasn’t a good sign of her mental health. She shook herself out of her thoughts. This wasn’t a time to focus on the negative. She beamed at Max; it was time to focus on brother-sister bonding.

He turned and skipped back towards Isabelle, unable to contain his laughter. Iz grabbed his mitten covered hand and held it, swinging it dramatically as they continued down the path.

“How have you been, Maxie?”

He scrunched his nose at the nickname but continued to beam at his sister, “Alright, I guess.”

Isabelle looked down at him, eyebrows raised. Max stared ahead, still swinging Isabelle’s hand. She let out a quiet huff; the Lightwood trait of stubbornness had clearly been passed on to him. She nudged him gently, “Just alright?”

“It’s boring, Izzy. I miss being at school with my friends.” He turned and blinked up at her, eyes wide and earnest behind his glasses, “I wish I was at Hogwarts with you guys.”

A lump formed in the back of Isabelle’s throat. She didn’t want to tell him that Hogwarts would probably be worse for him than being at home. That even though he was bored, at least he was safe from the cruel words of the outside world.

She readjusted her scarf with the hand that wasn’t clutching onto Max, “You know, I wish I was here with you and Mum and Dad.”

“Really?” Max gasped.

Isabelle hummed, “Really. I promise, things might suck right now, but I wish I was in your place right now. Besides,” She added with a sly grin at him, “You at least get to get out of school.”

Max laughed and it was loud, clear, and carefree. Unable to help herself, Isabelle broke into a grin. She made a mental note to thank her brothers for letting her be the one to take Max into town. When the two of them reached the snowy town, they hesitated at the outskirt of it. Isabelle bit her lip, a wave of nerves rising in her. She glanced down at Max; he was staring into town with wide eyes and a slightly ajar mouth. It was like he couldn’t believe he was really outside of their manor, acting like everything was okay. She squeezed his hand gently.

“Where to first, Max?”

***

Isabelle and Max headed home after their day of shopping. Max’s pockets were brimming with candy, a happy grin plastered on his face. He carried a bag of new books, swinging them every now and then as they trudged through piles of snow. Isabelle, usually the culprit of spending far too much money, had empty hands. She had been determined to buy Max as much as she could and had completely forgotten to get anything for herself. With a smile on her face, she decided that seeing him happy was better than anything a store could offer.

As Max explained a story, Isabelle realized that this was the happiest she had been this year. Being away from Hogwarts, she could almost pretend that everything was the same; no investigation focusing on her parents, no fear of reading about another death in the paper, and no worries about what her fellow classmates were saying about her. Her only concern at the moment was how she was going to keep her new white cloak from getting dirty and if she should start her holiday homework tonight or tomorrow.

Isabelle laughed as Max gestured wildly, nearly knocking off his glasses in his glee.  

In a split second, a flash of green light passed just in front of Isabelle, coming from the woods on their right. Isabelle whirled towards the trees, wand already out in front of her. Eyes never leaving the dark trees, she called back, “Max, did you see who that was? Or where they came from?”

Silence.

Isabelle’s heart thudded in her chest as she scanned the forest but nothing moved in their snow covered depths, “Max?”

She frantically turned back around, a roar in her ears. She let out a strangled cry when she saw her younger brother lying in the white snow, blood slowly seeping from his sides. She quickly dropped down and grabbed his thin arm, looking for a pulse. It took her a few seconds to find his veins in her panic, but when she finally did, she couldn’t feel anything. Where a solid, thudding pulse was supposed to be, there was silence. She whispered his name, choking on her salty tears, desperately hoping that maybe, just maybe, the voice of his sister would somehow, magically, bring him back. She shook his arm gently at first, but harsher after as more tears wet her face.

But nothing happened. Not giving a damn about her pristine cloak, she picked up his little body and held it close to her, sobbing into his damp hair. She sat in the snow, holding his lifeless body to her until she couldn’t feel her fingers or toes. The cold had seeped into her bones and Max’s lips were turning blue, snowflakes stuck to his skin and didn’t melt away, just gathered under his open eyes. She knew she had to go home, knew she had to take Max home. He needed to be with his family and her parents needed to know. She stood slowly and picked up Max’s body; her heart broke from how light he was. He would never grow any taller or gain any more weight. He’d be this size, this age, forever.

The walk home felt shorter than it had earlier. Isabelle collected herself enough to stop sobbing, but a constant stream of tears flowed down her face and dripped onto Max’s. She kept her eyes on the pathway, forcing herself not to look at his pale and bloody face. Trying to push open the door with full hands was nearly impossible, but Isabelle refused to let go of Max. Her fingers, slippery with blood, finally gained a grip on the doorknob and she was able to push her way in, using her foot to close the door behind her.

The door slammed shut behind her, the bang echoing through the house. Maryse’s voice called out to her from the library, “Ah, you two are back! How was shopping?”

Isabelle tried to will herself to speak, to give her mother some sort of warning as to what happened. But nothing came out of her mouth. She could hear Maryse’s heels clicking on the wood floors as she made her way to the main hallway. Isabelle clutched Max closer to her, unable to do anything else.

Isabelle saw her mother’s smile drop once she walked into her line of sight. Her face scrunched up, trying to piece together why Isabelle’s new cloak was stained so darkly and what she was carrying in her arms. She froze when she realized what happened to her youngest child. Her eyes dropped straight down to Max’s unmoving body, his bloodied face. She unsteadily lurched forward until she stood directly in front of Isabelle.

Her face was ashen. Never looking up from her son’s face, she asked, “What happened?”  
Isabelle stuttered out the story, having to pause several times because she was crying too hard to speak intelligible words. Though Maryse’s eyes were filled with tears, none fell. For a moment, when Isabelle had finished talking, she said nothing. Finally she murmured to herself, “You need to go.”  
“What?”  
Maryse blinked, as if pulling herself from a daze. She pulled herself to her full height, eyes already hardening, “You need to go. You and your brothers. We need to send you back to Hogwarts.”

Isabelle recoiled, “What?”

“Isabelle, this was a murder.” Maryse’s voice was harsh, “Your father and I need to report this to the Ministry. We’re going to have to explain why Max was out of the manor since we’re on house arrest. You and your brothers weren’t supposed to be here and if they find out you are, it will be even more trouble. Not just for us, but for your professors who helped get you here.” She took a deep breath her bottom lip quivering was the only sign of emotion left on her face, “No, you children need to leave. Now.”

Caught up in their own emotions, neither Maryse or Isabelle had notice Alec creeping down the stairs, curious about the commotion. “Izzy.” Her name came out as a broken whisper, but she whipped her head towards the stairs to where he was standing, frozen. “Please tell me that’s not Max.”

She shook her head, unable to speak. For a moment, Alec’s face remained straight. He looked from Isabelle’s tear-stained face to Max’s bloodied one, his breathing becoming more rapid and shallow. When the first tears fell, he scrubbed at his face, trying to stop them. But as more and more kept falling, he gave up and sat on the stairs, burying his face in his hands.

Maryse moved forward and grabbed Max’s body out of Isabelle’s arms, none too gently. “You need to get Jace. Then the three of you need to leave. Your father and I will deal with all of this.” Her voice broke. Isabelle thought that she was about to see her mother, who never cried, break down. Instead, Maryse took another deep breath and gave Isabelle a stern look, before carrying her youngest further into the house.

Isabelle stared after her before moving her gaze back to Alec. “Is Jace in his room?”. Alec nodded, not even bothering to move his face from his hands.

She climbed past Alec, touching his shoulder as she passed him, and moved into the long corridor upstairs. Her tears had stopped falling but there was still a curious roar in her ears as she moved, an internal scream that hadn’t stopped since the first sign of Max. Jace’s room was at the furthest end; with each step towards his door, Isabelle’s heart sunk a little more. She stood outside his door for a minute before building up the courage to knock.

“It’s open,” Jace’s voice drifted out. She pushed open the door. Jace was sprawled on his bed, a roll of parchment in his lap and a concentrated look on his face that was ruined when he met his sister’s eyes. He scrambled up, moving towards her. He frantically checked her for any wounds, “Iz, what the hell happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m not hurt, Jace. It’s not me. It’s Max.”

He pulled back, fear shining through his eyes. He opened his mouth several times before speaking slowly, “What are you talking about?”

She hurriedly explained everything, focusing on a spot on his wall, a scar left on the house from a childhood experiment involving Alec’s stolen wand and misspoken words. She didn’t want to see his face fall, see him break. She didn’t know if she could see another family member fall apart before her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him shaking his head. When she was finished, Jace didn’t move for a second. He stood up and pushed past her, flying down the hallway and down the stairs. Isabelle trailed after him, tears streaming down her face again. She paused on the staircase where Alec was still sitting. She wanted to be able to comfort Jace but there was no way she could see the body again.

Alec grabbed Isabelle’s hand and squeezed when they heard a strangled cry. Moments later, Jace stumbled back out into the hallway, looking like he was going to be sick. Maryse followed him, hands still red.

She looked at each of the children, breathing hard and desperately trying to blink back tears. Something shifted and she pulled herself upwards, face visibly hardening.

“You need to leave right now.” Her voice was harsh, “We need start an investigation and you can’t be here.”

The kids stared at her, unable to speak. For a moment, Maryse’s face dropped and she moved forward, as if to hug them. But then she was grabbing at Jace’s and Isabelle’s hand, urging them into the parlor. Alec followed but it was mostly from muscle memory.

She set about getting the fireplace ready, a heavy silence filling the room. Jace grabbed at Alec and Isabelle’s hands and held them tightly. Isabelle squeezed back, just as tight. When the fireplace was crackling and glowing green, Maryse pushed them in front of it.

With a sad smile, she touched each of their cheeks, “I know you must hate me right now, but it’s for everyone’s safety that you need to leave. There’s nothing more that I want than to be able to-” Her voice broke, “be able to grieve with you. We’ll send your bags as soon as we can.”

Quickly, she shoved them into the fireplace. The last thing Isabelle saw before the flames engulfed them was Marye’s face crumpling, the tears that she had fought for so long finally starting to fall.

***

Tessa Gray let out a sigh of contentment. For Christmas, she had received books almost exclusively as her presents from her friends, coworkers, and Nate. As a result, she had a stack of new books that she was determined to make a dent in before the end of the holiday. She and Jem were in her office; Tessa curled on the small couch next to the roaring fireplace, Jem seated next to her, fiddling with his violin and occasionally playing bits and pieces of his songs.

Suddenly, the room was filled with the green light of floo powder. Tessa frowned, glancing up from her book. The only people that she could think of that would be travelling to her office were the Lightwoods, but there was still over a week left in the break. Jem looked up, fingers hovering over the strings of his violin.

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle stumbled through the fireplace. Tessa and Jem both shot up, taking in the student's’ appearance; Alec and Jace were deathly pale, tears still flowing from both of their eyes. Isabelle’s appearance sent ripples of fear through Tessa’s body.  She wore a white robe which was stained with dark red blood. The blood was smeared across her pale face, save for where the tears had cut through blood. Her hands, which were also coated with drying blood, were shaking.

“Jem, get Catarina!” Tessa cried, panic ebbing into her voice. Before she finished the sentence, Jem was racing down the corridor towards the hospital wing. She turned back to the boys, who were supporting Isabelle despite looking like they might collapse themselves.

She guided them away from the fireplace, murmuring to to them, as she sat them on her little couch. She stood in front of them for a moment, taking in their broken expressions before whispering, “What happened?”

Isabelle’s lips wobbled, trying to stop the tears that formed in her eyes from falling. Jace’s jaw and fists clenched and unclenched. Alec met Tessa’s eyes, the bright blue dull.

“Max is dead.”

Isabelle’s face contorted as she tried even harder to keep from breaking into sobs. Tessa thought of the young boy that she had seen in the fireplace a few weeks ago, bright with energy and happiness to see his siblings. Her heart sank; these poor Lightwood children have been through so much this year and now their brother died.

Jem burst into the room, Madame Loss following behind him. The young healer took one look at the three students, shook her head, and knelt down to speak to them. She murmured something before standing, the Lightwoods numbly following suit. Still crying and shaking, the children were lead out of the office towards the Infirmary.

Jem looked at her, his silver eyes glinting with concern, “Tessa...what happened?”

“Their brother,” Her voice broke slightly, “Their brother is dead. I don’t know how, but obviously it was...” She trailed off.

Jem took a few steps forward before wrapping her in an embrace. She shook slightly, unable to wrap her mind around the idea that the youngest Lightwood was dead. Was murdered.

Jem murmured something into her hair. She pulled back slightly, “What?”

“I asked,” He looked at her, concern shining in his eyes, “What’s going to happen to the children? They can’t go back home if there is an investigation on their brother’s death along with everything else going on.”

Tessa straightened, thoughts turning, “They’ll stay here. Barely any other students stayed here this holiday, so they will have the privacy they need to heal. Everyone here can check on them and make sure they’re alright- Charlotte, Will, you, me and everyone else. If there is a funeral, of course they can go back. But, no, they should stay here.”

Jem nodded as she continued, muttering to herself, “I need to let Charlotte know that they are back. I need to make sure she’s okay with this.”

“Tessa, stop.” She paused her ramblings, “Take a breath. I’m sure Charlotte won’t mind; she has their best interests at heart. But you need to calm down. You can’t help them if you’re too worked up.”

She let out a long sigh, her body deflating, “I’m just worried about them. How much more can they take?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge shout out to Mandy for being an incredible incredible beta. Honestly, this story would not be where it is today with out her. And thank you to everyone who has stuck with TMCBU thus far. xx

Three days.

It had been three days since the murder of Max and Isabelle felt worse with each passing hour. She would wake, momentarily forgetting where she, before it would all come back to her. The blood-stained snow, the bright green flash, the way his hands slowly grew cold as she watched any signs of life leave him.

Though the white walls of the infirmary were dull and provided no distractions from her pain, she couldn’t leave. Just taking short trips to use the washroom were exhausting, let alone trying to make her way through the maze that was Hogwarts. Sleep provided her no relief; her dreams were constant reminders of Max’s death.

Isabelle was vaguely aware of a plate of food being placed in front of her, a voice murmuring unintelligible words. She furrowed her brow, forcing herself to follow the sound of the voice. Madame Loss stood at the edge of Isabelle’s bed, hands clasped in front of her and an expectant look on her face.

“Aren’t you going to eat, dear?”

Isabelle looked down; a small plate of sandwiches were neatly organized in front of her, a small pile of crisps sitting next to them. Her stomach rolled as she remembered that the last time she ate it had all came back up shortly after.

Madame Loss pursed her lips, a sad frown making her way onto her face, “You need to eat at some point, love. You can’t let yourself waste away."

At this, Isabelle turned away from her. She listened to Loss sigh before walking back into her office. Once she was sure that the nurse was nowhere near her, she put the plate of food on her bedside table and laid back in the bed. She knew she looked terrible. She was pale, dark bruises even more prominent underneath her eyes. Even her long hair, which she took great pride in, seemed to have lost it’s luster.

Shivering, Isabelle tugged the blankets tighter around her and squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe tomorrow she would feel up to eating. Maybe tomorrow talking wouldn’t seem like such a daunting task and maybe tomorrow she would feel like making her way back to her dorm. But for now, she would attempt to hide away from the world and her own mind.

***

Isabelle wouldn’t get out of bed. She was still in the hospital wing per Madame Loss’s instructions. Madame Loss said she had been in shock and was depressed. Jace demanded to know how Loss could determine anything when Isabelle wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t talk to the healer, the professors, the headmistress, or her brothers. She barely ate, taking a few bites of whatever was in front of her before pushing it away.

Alec and Jace had both been dismissed from the hospital wing after a day. “There is” Catarina Loss said, sorrow in her blue eyes, “Nothing I can do for either of you. There’s not a spell nor a potion that can take away the pain you feel.”

“Then why can’t Isabelle leave?” Jace argued, wanting nothing more than to spend as much time with his living siblings as he could.

Her gaze softened even more, “As of right now, I don’t believe she is able to handle being by herself. She’s refusing to do anything, even the vital things like eating and drinking. She needs to stay here where I can watch her.  Once I feel as if she is able to get by, I will let her leave. Until then, she has to stay here.

“The healing process is different for everyone, Mr. Lightwood. She’s taking it harder than you two and needs a bit more time.”

Jace opened his mouth to retort, but Alec shook his head at him. This was a fight Jace could not win. Jace bit his lip, anger and sadness both fighting for control within him. He stalked out of the infirmary, shaking off Alec’s hand when he tried to stop him.

Once alone in his dormitory, Jace lost any sense of control he had been pretending to have. He let loose a primal scream and began smashing anything in his sight. He threw his school books across the room, kicking his trunk until it was overturned and everything was strewn about. He ripped apart several rolls of parchment until they were nothing but tiny strips lying about his feet. He even attacked the curtains around his bed, tearing them down to the floor and yanking at them until they were ripped in several places.

He abruptly stopped once he ran out of things to get his hands on. He blinked, suddenly aware of how much of a disaster he caused. The room was trashed, bits of parchment fluttering in the air from the previous commotion. The anger rushed out of his body, leaving Jace dizzy and faint. He sat down on his bed and stared at nothing before it all hit him again. His hands were cracked open, paper cuts lining his fingers and shredded nails causing small rivers of blood to drain down his fingers. It was until the sting of his tears landing in the cuts that he realized he was crying.

Dead. Max was dead. There would be no coming home to a small boy with too big glasses running at him to tell him everything he had missed while Jace was at Hogwarts. The boy whose smile was all teeth and enthusiasm was gone. The last image of Max that Jace would ever see was of his bloodied body, limp in Isabelle’s arms.

He cried, the sobs shaking his whole body. He didn’t bother to wipe away any of the tears or snot, knowing that once it was gone, they’d come right back. He buried his face in his hands and cried and cried and cried.

***

Alec didn’t go to his room after leaving the Hospital Wing. How could he go without his sister and face the dark and lonely common room? The thought of sitting alone in his room made Alec’s skin crawl. He wandered the castle aimlessly, turning down corridors that he had never ventured down.

It wasn’t until he was directly standing in front of a door did he notice where his feet had led him. He was outside Professor Bane’s office door, a threshold that Alec had somehow managed to avoid crossing up until this point. Even though he hadn’t wanted to speak to Headmistress Branwell, or Professor Gray, or even Madame Loss, Alec had a strong desire to talk to Bane.

He knocked on the door. No response. He knocked again, this time harder. Still no response. He pounded at the door, tears pooling in his eyes and his breath catching, his fist slammed on the wood one last time, the sharp sound echoing through the hall as his hand protested and the door remained shut. He let out a frustrated shout and leaned against the door, trying to slow his rapid heart rate and just breathe.

“Alec?”

His head whipped up at the familiar voice. Magnus Bane strode down the corridor towards Alec, looking uncharacteristically worried, even his robes looked somber, the dusty gray and purple seemed dull. He stared at Bane, unable to breathe properly. His lips wobbled and he screwed up his face to keep from bursting into tears.

Only when Bane moved forward, mumbling something under his breath and pulling Alec into an embrace did Alec begin to cry. He sobbed into Bane’s shoulder, clinging to him as tight as he could. Alec was barely aware of the words that were being mumbled into his ears or the hands that were rubbing his back.

When Alec finally finished crying, he pulled away and rubbed at his face, embarrassed. Bane squinted his eyes at Alec, looking more catlike than usual, “I’d ask if you were alright, but that’s a pretty stupid question.”

Despite himself, Alec laughed or at least choked out a noise close to a laugh, “Yeah. A pretty stupid one, if you ask me.”

Bane’s lips quirked up before falling back into a frown. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Though he had wanted to talk to the potions professor, Alec couldn’t get the words out. He shrugged halfheartedly. Bane nodded as though Alec had just given him a detailed explanation of what he needed. “Do you want a cuppa? Tessa gave me a lovely new tea kettle that I’ve been meaning to break in.”

“Sure, why not.” Bane beamed, moving past Alec to open the door to his office. Alec didn’t know what to expect; most of the professor’s offices that he had previously been in were plain and undecorated. Bane didn’t seem like the type of person to leave a room empty.

Unable help himself, a smile quirked on his lips once Alec entered the office. Bright was the only word that Alec would have used to describe the space. Magnus had decorated with neon chairs in front of his desk, foregoing the standard dark wood ones. He had bright, colorful pictures of various cities across the globe, presumably from his travels, plastered on his wall. Sitting down in a shocking blue chair, Alec noticed a hint of glitter coating the surface of Bane’s desk.

Magnus settled across from Alec, passing him a cup of tea. They sipped in silence for a minute, both eyeing each other warily. Alec was suddenly strangely aware of the places Magnus’ hands had been on his body moments ago.

Alec broke the silence, “Did you go anywhere for holiday?”

“No,” Save for raising an eyebrow, Bane chose not to comment on Alec’s chosen subject to talk about, “Normally I would travel to visit friends, but as it seems, the important ones are based here. How about that?”

“Like Professor Gray? I mean,” Alec stuttered when Bane rose his other eyebrow, amusement dancing in his eyes, “You mentioned her buying you a Christmas gift? And you two just seem close? I’m sorry, I didn’t me-”

“Calm down, it’s alright.” He grinned, “You guess correctly. Though, she isn’t the only reason I stayed.”

Alec nodded and fiddled with his teacup. Magnus sipped his tea, the vision of ease. A few minutes of silence passed between the two before Alec spoke up again, this time, much more quietly, “Have you ever lost someone?”

“I have.”

“Someone that was as close as family to you?”

Magnus didn’t even blink, “I have.”

“How do you get through it? Because,” Alec scrunched his face to avoid crying for the second time in front of him, “Right now it feels like it’s never going to get better.”

A sad smile found it’s way on Magnus’s face, “In some ways, it never does. The pain never heals. At least, not fully. It’s going to be a while until you’re going to feel better in the slightest.”

Alec slumped forward, a few tears trickling down his cheeks, “How do you get through it? How do I get to where it starts to feel better? Because it’s only been a few days and I can’t keep feeling this way. I can’t keep waking up and forgetting what happened for a moment, because every morning, once I remember, it’s that much worse.

“And I don’t want to be like Isabelle. I don’t want to forget how to stop living but right now, I don’t know how to get on with life, knowing that there is someone missing from my life right now. I don’t know how to go on without my baby brother.”

Magnus reached out and squeezed one of Alec’s hands, “I said it was hard. I didn’t say it was impossible. But right now, you have the right attitude. You want to try to get past this, which is a huge step. This is why you’re reacting this way as opposed to your sister.

“When I lost my...when I went through this, the thing that got me through it was continuing about my days. It sounds dumb,” He smiled slightly at Alec’s disbelieving look, “But I promise it works. Even if you’re mentally not there and you just let your body go through the motions of the day, it’ll help. You’ll be able to do little things to take your mind off of it and not feel quite so sad. Eventually, time will do it’s best to heal you. At least, as much as it can.”

“And Isabelle?”

“I’m no medical expert, Alec. But, she needs to get there her own way. You can’t force her to jump from her own version of grief to yours, no matter how hard it is to watch her.” Magnus said gently.

Alec looked away from his piercing gaze, blinking rapidly at a picture of The Great Wall of China, trying to process everything that Magnus had told him. None of it was actually new information; Madame Loss gave both Alec and Jace a lecture on grief before they were properly excused from the Hospital Wing. But there was something comforting hearing the words from Magnus, be it from the slow and gentle tone he used or knowing that he had gone through what Alec went through. Or maybe the hand that was still rubbing a soft rhythm on Alec’s palm.

After steadying his breathing and successfully fought back almost all of his tears, Alec brought his gaze back to Magus, only to find him staring at him already. He nodded slightly, silently asking if Alec was okay.

“Yeah,” He answered out loud, “Yeah, I will be.”

***

Simon was sat at the desk in his room when he saw Clary briskly walking down the pathway to his house, through the large window that dominated the back wall of his room. He furrowed his brow; he and Clary still hadn’t said a word to each other since their argument. He knew that it wasn’t good to go on with the frosty silences and avoiding one another but he wouldn’t apologize. Couldn’t apologize. He still stood by everything he had said, even if he regretted the way that it all came out.

He heard a knock on the front door and Clary’s voice carried to his room, “Hello Ms. Lewis. Is Simon home? I really need to speak to him.”

His mother’s soft voice was muffled, but when he heard footsteps up the stairs, he knew his mother probably had directed her up towards his room,with an offer for tea following the redhead as she climbed the stairs. He hadn’t expected anything less; his mother was blissfully unaware of any tension between the two.

Even so, his heart sunk a little when he hear a knock on his door. Clary never knocked. She had a habit of barging into rooms unannounced, something that had gotten her into trouble more times than Simon could count.

“Come in,” Simon said, spinning around to face the door.

Clary opened the door, face still rosy from the cold, eyes shifting about the room before landing on him. Still as beautiful as ever. She bit her lip and fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket spoke softly, “Hey,”

“Hey.” Simon knew that his tone was cold, but he couldn’t bring himself to change it.

“I know we haven’t talked....in awhile and I’m sure you probably hate me right now,” She paused, waiting to see if he would correct her. He didn’t. Her lips pressed together tightly as she continued. “But something happened.”

Simon raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. She frowned loudly, something he suspected only she could do, but pulled folded papers from the pocket of her jacket and thrust them in his face. Simon unfolded them, surprised to see _The Daily Prophet_ title appear on the thin pages . While he got the paper at school, he didn’t have it delivered to his house; his mother wasn’t fond of there being any more traces of the wizarding world in her house than necessary.

His heart stopped for a minute when he saw the headline: _Youngest Lightwood Child, Max (9), Is Dead. Murder Investigation For His Death Ongoing_. He skimmed the rest of the article, heart beating frantically. It didn’t delve into any details about how the young boy died, only that it did appear to be a murder. It briefly touched on the other investigation of the Lightwood parents, mentioning Alec, Jace, and Isabelle in passing. He looked up, horror stricken.

“I know,” Clary said, her face grim, “I figured you should hear about it before we go back to Hogwarts. Since you and Isabelle are friends now.”

Ignoring the bitterness that creeped into her voice, Simon asked, “Do you know...?”

“What happened to them? Where they are?” She flopped down on his bed, familiarity in her actions,  “No. I have no idea about anything. I haven’t heard from them since we left for break, and last I knew they were planning on spending the holiday with their family. I don’t know what happened.”

Simon rubbed his face, suddenly feeling anxious. He couldn’t imagine what the Lightwoods must be going through. He remembered how Isabelle talked about her brother, her face lighting up whenever she mentioned his name. He thought of his sister Rebecca, currently out of town visiting one of her University friends. If she died...Simon couldn’t even imagine how much pain he’d be in.

“What do we do?”

Clary ran a hand through her hair, tugging on a curl roughly before letting it bounce back, the strand landing on the mass of them fanned out across his pale bedsheets, “I don’t know. That’s the worst part. I don’t know if they need space or a letter or a care package or what. Part of me wants to wait until we get back to Hogwarts to talk to them but another part of me just wants to send as many letters as I can to them. I don’t know what to do.” She pushed herself up on her elbows, a sad look on her face as she faced him.

Her voice cracked and it hit Simon how upset she was. That even though they had been in a fight, or still in a fight, their new friends were suffering more than either of them could imagine. He quickly crossed the room and wrapped her in a hug. Simon breathed in her familiar scent of lavender, immediately comforted by it. All his anger towards her melted away, at least for a moment. He pulled out of the hug to look at her when he felt her shaking.

“Are you okay?”

She let out a laugh, a wet sound, “I’m fine. It’s just crazy to think about everything the Lightwoods have been through this year already. I used to wonder why Mum was always so scared of me going off to Hogwarts. You remember the first year she saw me off? How she was so nervous and stressed? I told her there was nothing to worry about? Now I’m starting to see why she was concerned.”

Simon knew exactly what she meant. His mother was the same, constantly worrying about him. There was time, directly after receiving his letter of admission that she and Jocelyn wanted to keep the kids from Hogwarts and enroll them in a muggle school. Eventually, Clary and Simon convinced their parents that they had to go to Hogwarts. He had never been worried about his safety in the wizarding world. But he was beginning to feel sick whenever he read The Prophet. He had been keeping so much from his mother this year, just to keep her from pulling him out of Hogwarts.

“It’ll go away, Clary. It has to. The Lightwoods are innocent.”

She pulled further away from him. Clearly he had said the wrong thing. “We’ve all been saying that for months, Simon. What if it doesn’t get better? What if, somehow, the Lightwoods are found guilty? Or, even if they are found innocent, they will still have a dead son and brother on their hands. He’s never coming back. It’s always going to be a reminder of what they went through.”

Simon blinked, taken aback by how passionate she was. She seemed to realize how close she had come to yelling, the red in her cheeks slowly fading. She sighed, tension suddenly falling away, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’ve just been worried.”

He couldn’t help himself when he asked, “About Jace?”

“Yes, I’m worried about Jace. But also about Isabelle and even Alec.” She shook her head, lip curling slightly in disgust, “God, you’re so blinded by my friendship with Jace that you can’t even see that I actually care about the other two. I should probably leave. I wanted to tell you about Max and I have. I’ll see you around.” She pulled away from him, her arms had still been loosely wrapped around his waist, the warmth of her hug was fading quickly.

She made to leave, tugging her mittens back on after digging them free from her coat. “Wait,” Simon called. She paused and looked back, hope gleamed in her eyes for a heartbeat.  Apologies froze in his throat. Unable to say anything else, he mumbled, “Hope the rest of your break is good.”

An unreadable look crossed her face and Simon could have sworn he saw tears beginning to form. She gave him a curt nod before heading quickly out the door and down the stairs. He heard his mother call out a confused goodbye before the front door slammed shut.

A few minutes later, Simon’s mother came upstairs, wiping her hands with a towel. “Is something going on between you and Clary? This was the first time I’ve seen her all break. Normally Jocelyn has come over her and drag her out of the house to spend time with her and Luke. Or vice versa.”

He gave a noncommittal shrug, “I don’t know, Mum.”

She clicked her tongue, turning to go back downstairs, “Well, I hope whatever is going on, you two patch it up soon.”

Simon looked back out the window, where he could still see Clary walking home, her hair bright against the snow, “Me too.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, has time gotten away from me. Honestly, there is no real excuse for me not writing and getting this up earlier. Better late than never, right? Don't worry guys, I'm not going to be giving up on this anytime soon.
> 
> Thank you to my brilliant beta, Mandy, for kicking my ass into gear and harping on me every day to get this done.   
> And thank you all who have read this and reviewed/kudoed/bookmarked. It means the world.

It’s been six days since the start of term. It’s been six days and Clary does her best not to worry, but Isabelle never showed up to their shared History of Magic course, which was completely unlike her. After asking around, she found that the younger Lightwood not only hasn’t been seen in any of her classes, but no one has seen her in the corridors, in the washrooms, or even in her common room. It was like Isabelle had disappeared from the school, leaving behind her brothers and hushed whispers between the students. 

Now Saturday, Clary scanned the Great Hall, looking for a familiar head of long dark hair. She spotted Alec, sitting apart from the rest of Slytherins, head down and stabbing angrily at his eggs. Clary frowned and glanced down the Gryffindor table but Jace was absent from breakfast. 

Before she even fully realized what she was doing, Clary stood up and made her way down to the end of the Slytherin table. A few people stared at her openly, but most had the courtesy to glance away when she stopped in front of Alec. He glanced up, one brow raised. She had never had a proper conversation with him, but damn it, she was worried about Isabelle. 

Clary took a deep breath and steeled herself, “Hey.” 

Silence. 

“Look, I know we’ve never talked, but I’m Clary Fray. Isabelle’s friend? I don’t know if you know of me...?” 

More silence but both eyebrows were now raised. 

“Look, it doesn’t matter. Is she okay? I haven’t seen her all week and I’m really starting to worry. I know it might not be my place but I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

Alec narrowed his eyes, his gaze icy and sharp, “Do you really think she’s okay right now?” When Clary opened her mouth to defend herself, he continued angrily, “She’s dealing with this how she needs to. Stop worrying about her and focus on yourself. She doesn’t need you to be worrying about her when there’s so many other things happening. Focus on your school work or something that actually concerns you.” 

He stood from the table suddenly, looming over Clary for a moment before storming away. Clary watched him stomp off, shouldering his way through the crowd. She sighed; though she hadn’t it expected to go perfectly, his reaction was worse than she had expected. Clary shook her head, promising herself that she would go looking again for Isabelle if she wasn’t in their next shared class, protective older brothers be damned.  

*******

Simon hadn’t expected to end up outside the Hospital Wing during his lunch break the following Monday. Hell, he hadn’t even expected to end up there when he had asked Professor Gray if there was any work that he should try to pass along to Isabelle. He had expected her to simply shake her head sadly at him, the way that all the professors had done whenever the Lightwoods were mentioned. But instead, Professor Gray had slid him a sheet of parchment detailing the homework from the past few classes and the upcoming ones and whispered “Check the hospital wing.” 

And well. That was that.

Simon took a deep breath and readjusted his bag before pushing open the doors. The wing was almost empty, as he expected it to be on the first Monday after break. He spotted Isabelle near the end of the row, her head bent over parchment as she scribbled something furiously on it. 

It wasn’t until he was a few steps away from her bed that she looked up and noticed him awkwardly adjusting his glasses. Her mouth thinned into a flat line, the quill in her hand going slightly slack. 

Before she had a chance to open her mouth, Simon dropped the stack of papers on her bedside table, “Professor Gray told me to come here when I asked her for notes for you.”

She blinked twice, mouth dropping open slightly, “Oh.” 

“And,” He continued quickly, “If you need me to get any other homework, just let me know because I know we’re taking a lot of the same classes and -” 

“Stop,” Isabelle said, “Just take a deep breath and slow down.”

Simon huffed but finished at a slower rate, “I’m just saying, if you need someone to bring you the homework, I’m more than happy to help.”

A weary smile crept its way onto Isabelle’s face, “Most of the professors have been really helpful and great about getting me the assignments. But still, thank you. I really appreciate this. I think you’re one of the first people to visit me, aside from like, my family and the professors. Even if it is to bring homework.”

He smiled bashfully, “I’m happy to help.”

She raised a brow, “Still. Thank you.” 

There was a moment of hesitation before Simon asked quietly, “How have you been?” 

Before he had a moment to retract his question because he realized how  _ stupid _ of a question that was, Isabelle let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “ How am I doing? You mean after watching my ten year old brother be killed? Right in front of me? Do you mean having to deal with everyone else believe my family had something to do with it? I’m doing really fucking great.”

“I didn’t- I’m sorry, I-” 

“I know,” She sighed, “I know you didn’t mean anything by the question. I’m just...I’m just so sick of everything and I hate waking up with that image burned into my mind, you know?” 

Simon hesitantly sat at the edge of the bed, waiting for her to ask him what he was doing. The question never came. He hesitantly, but sincerely, said, “I can’t imagine.” It was the truth, he could not even begin to imagine what Isabelle was going through.

“You really can’t,” She said, but not unkindly, “It’s...I just...”

Even more quietly he said, “You really don’t need to justify or try to explain yourself. Especially to me. Just...just know if you need someone to talk to, or someone to babble to get your mind off things...I’m here.” 

For the first time since he arrived, Isabelle smiled, “Again, I appreciate that. Don’t get me wrong, I love my brothers. But we’re all healing on our own time and own way, and it’s like they want me to be exactly where they are right now. But I just...I can’t do it. I can’t go back out there yet.”

There was a pause as Simon tried to articulate his thoughts, “I’m sure they’re mostly just worried about you. They probably just want to make sure you’re going to be okay.”

The Slytherin snorted and absently fiddled with the starch white bedding. Her fingers were dry and the skin around her nails was ragged and worn. There was an almost awkward silence as Isabelle continued to play with the bedding. For a moment, Simon debated saying his goodbyes to head back to the Hufflepuff common room before dinner. He glanced around the near empty wing and felt a pang at the thought of her sitting in silence, alone with her thoughts.

“Do you want me to help with the homework? Since you haven’t been in class and we’re taking almost the same schedule?” He asked tentatively, resisting the urge mumble the question towards the ground. 

Isabelle’s eyes widened, “Are you sure? You don’t have plans with Clary or anyone?”

Simon’s heart gave a slight lurch at the sound of Clary’s name; they hadn’t spoken since the holiday, despite having three different classes together. He smiled at Isabelle, who looked hopeful, “I promise, I have no plans and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

A bright smile flitted across her face as she began to pull out her different books and scrolls of parchment. They worked through dinner and well into the night. After seeing her smile and a glimpse of Isabelle’s former self, he was determined to stay as late as he could and until she kicked him out, trying to bring out her smile as much as possible. 

*******

Tuesday rolled around and there was still no sign of Isabelle. Clary would be more worried, but she had heard multiple rumors floating around the castle that Isabelle was currently residing in the Hospital Wing. The phrase used by the student who had seen her was actually “hiding out” in the Hospital Wing, but Clary refused to believe that her friend would be afraid of coming back to class. But, she was irritated with the amount of rumors surrounding her and her family. 

No, Clary was more than irritated. Clary was pissed. Pissed because she felt like she was the only one who actually seemed to care about what was being said about the Lightwoods, including said siblings, who were keeping to themselves. Even Jace, who could normally be found holding court in the Great Hall during any given meal, had been unusually quiet since the term started back up two weeks ago. 

Anger fueling her, Clary made her way to the Hospital Wing after dinner. She had spent a good part of the meal debating whether to tell Alec and Jace where she was planning to go, but remembering how well last Thursday had gone over, she figured it might be best to just go alone.  Clary hesitated outside of the Hospital Wing, biting her lip before she gathered the courage to open the door.

As it was only the second Tuesday of the term, the wing was almost empty, making it easy to locate Isabelle. She was tucked away in one of the back beds, hair pulled into a messy bun as she scribbled on a sheet of parchment. Clary walked slowly towards her but the other girl didn’t look up from her notes.

Clary cleared her throat quietly, “Hey,”

Isabelle glanced up and Clary’s heart broke a little. Though she had always been fair-skinned, Isabelle was even more pale than usual, the deep purple bags under her eyes making the contrast more obvious. Regardless, she managed a weak smile, “Clary! Hi,”

“Isabelle-” Even in the one word, Clary’s voice was small and sympathetic.  

“Don’t,” Isabelle cut her off, steel in her voice, “Don’t start with that Clary, I don’t want your pity.”

“I wasn’t here to give you pity, Izzy. Do you really think that would be the only reason I would come to see you?”

Isabelle dropped her eyes to her lap, “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. I just...this has been really hard.”

Clary gingerly sat down on the bed, “I can’t imagine.” 

They sat in silence for a moment, Isabelle fiddling with her quill and Clary taking in the other girl’s appearance. Though Isabelle had remained uninjured over her break, her stress had taken an obvious toll on her body aside from her bags under her eyes. She had lost even more weight and her hands were slightly shaking. 

“So,” Clary started, determined to tackle the real reason she came to the Hospital Wing, “When does Madame Loss think you’re going to be able to go back to classes?”

Isabelle instantly dropped her gaze back down to her hands. “Oh,” She said, voice small, “She said once as soon as I’m feeling better- like, not physically but you know... I can go.” 

Clary’s heart jack-rabbited, “You’re free to go?”

“As soon as I decide I feel up to it,” If possible, her voice was even smaller than before.

Dropping her voice to the same level, Clary asked, “What’s stopping you, Iz?” 

Isabelle played with the quill in hand, twirling it over and over again. She took a deep breath before rushing her words out, “I can’t do it. I just...I can’t. You don’t understand, Clary. You don’t know what it’s like to have everyone stare at you. To have them whisper about how they actually believe the shit  _ The Prophet _ is saying. I’m...I can’t listen to what they’re going to say about Max, or how my family deserves this or whatever else they have to say.” 

“Izzy,” Clary whispered, heart dropping even further in her chest, as a tear slid down Isabelle’s cheek, “I’m so sorry. I’m so  _ so  _ sorry.”

There was a slight pause before she pushed on, “But forgive me for what I’m about to say, because I’m only doing this because I care about you, but I think you’re wrong.”

Isabelle furrowed her brows and recoiled sharply, “Excuse me?”

“No, no, let me explain,” Clary said, words slurring together from how fast she was talking, “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be taking time to heal and grieve away from everyone. I just...I don’t think hiding in the Hospital Wing is benefiting you or your family.” 

An eyebrow rose, but Isabelle didn’t say anything. Clary was reminded of Alec and rushed ahead.

“I just think that since no one has seen you since break, they’ve felt like they can get away with saying these terrible things.”

“To my knowledge,” Isabelle interjected coolly, “Both Alec and Jace are back in classes. Why am  _ I  _ the one who would stop the slander?”

Clary rubbed at her eyes, “I’m not saying it’s fair, Izzy. But you, since the start of last term, have been the most vocal about all the shit that has been happening. You’re arguably one of the most respected, and to be quite frank, one of the most intimidating people in this school. So, yeah, people are most likely going to get their act together if you come back, kicking ass like your normal self.

“I know you’re just trying to grieve, and you have every right to. But it’s not healthy to lock yourself in the Hospital Wing for the rest of term. And it’s not going to do anything to help the gossip. Who knows? It might even make you feel a bit better; getting out of this room and getting to interact with everyone again.”

Isabelle snorted, but there was a twinkle in her eyes, “You mean yell at anyone that even looks at me the wrong way?”

Clary beamed, “Exactly!”

The two settled in silence, though it wasn’t uncomfortable. Clary smiled one last time at her friend, before packing her bag back up. 

“Let me know if you have any questions about any homework or something, okay? I’ll be in the Gryffindor Common Room and I’m sure you already know the password,” Clary winked and hesitated before adding, “I’ll see you in History on Friday?”

“I think you will,” Isabelle said softly, a small smile gracing her face.

Clary beamed and headed towards the door, a spring in her step. She was halfway out the door before she heard a rustling behind her. She was barely able to turn fully around before she got a face full of dark hair and Isabelle’s arms wrapped tightly around her body. Clary managed to wrap her arms around the other girl, squeezing gently. 

Isabelle pulled back with a watery smile, “Thank you. I know I can be...abrasive at times but I’m really glad we’re friends. Aside from Alec and Jace, you’re one of the few people that came to visit me. And the only one who was brave enough to give me a much needed kick in the ass. So thank you.”

“Anytime,” Clary dimpled, “Now, I’ve got homework to do and if you’re really coming back to class tomorrow, so do you!” 

Isabelle nodded, looking brighter than she had since the holiday as she watched Clary wave goodbye one last time before heading out of the Hospital Wing. Within five minutes of Clary leaving, a small ball of anxiety grew in Isabelle’s chest. However, without the enthusiasm from her friend, the task suddenly seemed daunting.

“No,” Isabelle whispered to herself, pulling her hair out of her face and into a high ponytail, “You’re a Lightwood. You can  _ do _ this.” With that, she ungracefully shoved the work that Clary had given her into her bag that was resting on the floor; she collected the other trinkets and cards that had found their way to her bedside table and stuffed them in the bag as well. 

Once everything was packed up, Isabelle quickly walked towards the door, refusing to give herself time to doubt her actions. She turned back, looking at the Wing where she had resided for now almost two weeks. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she turned back around and left, head held high as she marched towards her common room. 

*******

When Clary left the Hospital Wing, she truly hadn’t planned on yelling at Jace in the middle of the common room. She had left in high spirits, pleased to see Isabelle start to smile and seem more confident in herself. She knew that she wasn’t solely responsible for Isabelle deciding to come back to class, but Clary was incredibly grateful that her conversation with her had ended on a positive note.

She hummed quietly to herself as she let herself into the common room, after a soft murmur of “Mallowsweet” to the Fat Lady. The room was quiet, most of students bent over their parchment or books. She spotted Jace, sitting in a far corner near the fireplace, absently thumbing through an Astronomy textbook.

Impulsively, Clary headed towards him. Since the term had restarted, the two hadn’t really talked; Jace kept to himself and with Quidditch practice on hold, there hadn’t been any other reason to. 

Jace glanced up and offered her a small, tired, smile when he first saw her. His eyebrows pulled together slightly as she made her way closer to him and ultimately dropped into the seat across from him.

Before he could even his mouth, Clary found herself saying, “Just so you know, I think Isabelle is going to be back in class tomorrow.”

Jace opened his mouth and snapped it shut once, twice, three times before he spoke. "How did you..?" 

Clary crossed her arms. Jace didn't look happy, his eyes were simmering with something that made the red head feel rather defensive. 

"Sometimes you just need to give someone the right push. Tell them what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear." 

Jace stiffened and his nostrils flared slightly. Clary felt her temper spark in return. 

"Are you implying something?" His entire body was tense. Clary was regretting coming over. She should have stepped down. He was still grieving. He needed t-

"Is there something I should be implying?" she asked tersely. 

“Maybe,” Jace’s voice rose, “We had told her that. Maybe we wanted her to heal on her own time and not feel pressured to force herself to come back when she wasn’t ready. Maybe we wanted her to have the privacy she needed to grieve!”

Clary ran her hands through her hair, tugging on a loose curl, “I’m not blaming you for her staying there, you dense idiot!  "I'm just saying that it may have helped to talk to her again. Not everyone heals in the same way you and Alec are! Brooding silence and hanging out alone in a corner.”

“And I’m just saying,” Jace’s voice had risen to a shout, “That maybe you shouldn’t meddle in our family as if you know what’s best for us!”

“I never said that!” Clary’s voice matched his shout. It was then that the two realized how silent the common room had gotten. Most of the students were staring openly at them, though some had the grace to drop their eyes hastily back to their school work.

Jace scowled at them before turning his attention back to the smaller girl, “Like I said, I’m glad Isabelle is going to back to class. More than you can imagine. But do not act like you know my family more than I do. I’ve known Isabelle my entire life...you only became her friend this year.”

He grabbed his book and quill before stalking up towards the male dormitory. Clary stared after him, chest heaving and red-faced for a moment before she remembered that there was an audience. She glared at the fellow Gryffindors before climbing back up towards her dormitory. As she got ready for bed, she quietly fumed over Jace’s harsh reaction to what she had hoped to be good news. Shaking her head, she still mentally celebrated in knowing that she would be seeing Isabelle in History. Professor Starkweather had gotten quite dry without Isabelle sitting next to her writing sarcastic comments in the margins of their notes. Despite the argument, Clary was able to fall asleep with a smile on her face and excitement for the next day.

*******

Tessa shook her head at the copy of  _ The Daily Prophet _ ; in their most recent edition another muggle death was outlined, along with a lengthy description of the suspicion towards the Lightwoods as well as a small blurb on Max Lightwood. 

“I can’t believe they still haven’t figured out who’s at the heart of these murders. It’s disgusting to watch them try to pin this to Robert and Maryse.” She grumbled to Magnus, who was carefully cutting up his apple. 

Magnus’s lips twisted into a frown, “I don’t mean to be a pessimist but you  _ can _ kind of see where they’re coming from? Robert and Maryse were both in the Circle and though their charges were dropped and they’re aurors, it’s harder for those who were around to forget that.”

Tessa turned quickly towards him, “So I’m not the only one who sees the similarities between this and the Circle?” 

Someone snorted on her other side. Will, lathered his toast with a copious amount of butter, said, “Of course not. I’m sure the investigators and the writers from the  _ Prophet _ picked up on it from the first murder.”

“They probably don’t want to cause a mass panic by linking them quite yet. But, using the Lightwoods as the prime suspects...it’s almost like hinting at the similarities between this and Valentine without explicitly saying it.” Jem added from Will’s other side, looking down towards Tessa and Magnus.

“It’s actually pretty smart,” Magnus muttered to himself. Tessa shot him a sharp look and he hastily added, “I’m not saying it’s  _ right _ but the strategy makes sense.”

Just as she opened her mouth to respond, an unusual hush fell across the Great Hall. The four professors looked up sharply. Standing in the entrance to the Great Hall were the three Lightwoods, heads held high. The students remained quiet as they made their way to their respective tables, many eyes glancing towards Isabelle. She continued walking, long hair swishing behind her, as she sat down at the Slytherin table without a glance towards any other student. Magnus raised an amused eyebrow as Alec met Clary’s eyes across the Hall, nodding slightly before turning his attention to his sister.

A smile spread across Tessa’s face, “Looks like she’s back.”

“And ready to kick some ass,” Magnus added gleefully.

She did- all three of them looked intimidating and almost like themselves before the holidays. Tessa smiled to herself again, knowing that if the three of them stuck together, there was no way that they wouldn’t be able to get through everything that was thrown their way. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back? It's been a long time coming, but wow. The next chapter is finally here. I know it's a shorty but I needed to kinda get back to it. Hopefully the next won't be a year apart. But thank you to all who still are reading and thank you to my beta, Mandy!

Not a week later, Clary looked up from her lunch to Isabelle storming across the Great Hall, fire blazing in her eyes. Her eyes were narrowed and it looked as though she was slightly shaking.

“What are we going to do about this?” Izzy slammed down a stack of papers in front of Clary, shaking the glasses of pumpkin juice in front of her. 

Clary picked up the paper delicately, trying to avoiding getting it wet. She grimaced when she saw the headline from  _ The Prophet _ :  **More Evidence Pointing Towards Lightwood Family in Recent Muggle Murders** . 

“Izzy I’m so-”

“Clary, I swear to God, if you say sorry, I’m going to lose my mind,” Isabelle took a deep breath, “I’m done being sad about this. I’m done being pitied. I just...I want to do something. I want to prove that we’re not involved and clear our name.”

There was a pause before Clary responded, “I’m glad that you’re ready to do something but...”  
“But?”  
“It’s just,” Clary sighed and fiddled with the edge of the newspaper, “How do you expect to prove your family innocent? I mean, they have the Ministry working on it- those are like, the Wizarding World’s best people.” 

Isabelle sat down next to Clary with a huff, “No offense, but that’s bullshit. The Ministry is, and always has been corrupt. There is nothing of substance tying us to these murders, yet, the investigations continue. I’m not going to let them ruin my family more than they already have.”   
Clary glanced back down at the newspaper before looking back at Isabelle with a soft smile, “I’m in. What can I do to help?”

* * *

 

Saturday afternoon turned out to be a gorgeous winter day; the snow was falling in fluffy flakes and someone had started a massive snowball fight on the grounds that it seemed every Hogwarts student was a part of. That is, almost every student.

Clary and Isabelle sat in the library, pouring over the newest history books that were offered. Every now and then Clary would glance wistfully at the window, but whenever she looked back at Isabelle- head down, buried in a book and scribbling notes so quickly the ink was splattering on her hand- she became refocused and determined. 

When Isabelle first asked her to help look up information on the Uprising and the Circle, Clary was concerned that there wouldn’t be much information. After all, it was a relatively recent event, and how many books could there really be?

Turns out, there was a lot. Their entire table was covered in books- from dry, historical books to the exaggerated novel-esque type books on the subject. However, the books weren’t providing the information the girls were looking for. Rather than describing the details on the attacks, the books were more focused on how the Uprising started, how the tensions built, both socially and politically. 

Clary, in a way, almost wished she could spend time and focus on these books, rather than skimming for a certain topic. Professor Starkweather hadn’t gone into much detail yet, and as a muggleborn, she couldn’t rely on anyone back home to tell her about the Uprising in detail. 

Isabelle let out a loud groan, earning her a sharp look from Head Librarian Enoch, “This is hopeless. None of these books have any of the information we need,” 

“Are you sure that information was even written down, Izzy?” Clary asked, looking at their cluttered table with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She suspected that if the books were stacked up they would be taller than her.

Isabelle looked at up from her pages with fire in her eyes, “No, no. It has to be somewhere, it  _ can’t  _ not be somewhere.”

“Maybe it just hasn’t been written down yet?” When Izzy leveled her with a dry look, Clary hurried on to say, “Or at least not written in any books Hogwarts owns? Is there anyone we can actually ask about this?”

“The only people who would know the information we’re looking for are people actually  _ in  _ The Circle. And no,” She continued when Clary opened her mouth, “I’m not going to ask Mum or Dad about this. They have enough on their plates without me trying to get information from their past. Besides, they would just tell me to drop it. And we can’t do that.”

Clary absently doodled on the sheet of parchment that she had pulled out to take notes on, biting her lip. Suddenly she stood up excitedly, her chair squeaking loudly. A plan was building up in the back of her mind, giving her enough hope that she ignored the scowl the librarian was directing at her and focused her attention on Isabelle.

“I have an idea! I’m not sure if it’ll work, but we can try it,” Clary started packing her quills into her bag. Isabelle stared blankly at her until Clary asked, “Well...are you coming?”

Isabelle hurriedly shoved her books and quills into her bag. Clary dragged Isabelle out of the library and down the corridors. They ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over some first years in the process but soon enough, Clary skidded to a stop in front of a door. 

Isabelle blinked at the door and then back at the Gryffindor, “Why are we in front of Professor Bane’s door?”

“I think he can help up,” Clary beamed.

“As supportive as Professor Bane has been to all of us, I really don’t think he’s going to know more than all those books. He’s like, really young, Clary.”

Clary sighed, “I don’t know. Maybe he knows people- he did say how he was traveling the world before he taught. It can’t hurt to ask, right?”

Isabelle’s gaze flickered a moment between Clary and the door. With a deep breath, she leaned forward and knocked on it, Clary smiling encouragingly at her.

There was a brief pause before the girls heard any sort of movement from the other side of the door. Then there was a quiet, but audible, sigh followed by a few papers rustling before they heard footsteps approaching. 

Professor Bane opened the door with a flourish, black robe glittering in the torchlight. He smiled warmly at the girls, “Ladies, what a pleasant surprise. How can I help you this evening? Potions essay giving you a bit of trouble?”

Isabelle cleared her throat and shifted her weight from one foot to another, “Actually Professor, we were wondering if we could talk to you about a more...personal matter.”

Bane regarded the girls carefully an eyebrow raised but his face revealing nothing as he stepped aside, “Of course, come in.”

They entered the room and sat in the chairs across from the desk. Bane sat across from them, almost hesitantly.

“So, how can I help you two?”

Isabelle cleared her throat and unknotted her hands, “We just wanted to ask you what know about The Circle.”

“Ladies, I know you-” Magnus started. Clary couldn’t help but note that he looked relieved about the topic choice. His hesitation drifting away as he shifted to professor mode.

“We know you can’t discuss the current..situation. But we were wondering about the early days of The Circle. We’ve heard about the rise of the Circle but there is not a lot of information on the actual attacks.”

Magnus let out a laugh of disbelief and put his head in his hands. His reply was slightly muffled, “You want me to describe the attacks?” 

Isabelle shifted in her chair, “We think it could be of some help.”  
“I-” Magnus sighed and some papers fluttered on his desk in response, “You know what, I’m afraid to ask and I don’t think I even want to know what you’re getting up to.” 

The two girls exchanged tentative smiles. Isabelle asked hopefully, “So...you’ll help us?”  
Magnus leaned back in his chair and groaned, “What do you want to know?”

There was a heavy silence before Isabelle asked, “Mostly...about the attacks. What...how..?”

“You have to understand, ladies, that times were different. If you think tensions are high now, it’s nothing compared how it was 20ish years ago. Pure blood supremacy was rampant - people took it as a fact that only those from pure blood were supposed to have magic. Or, at the very least, be the only ones properly trained. 

“The attacks started just after Valentine and a majority of the Circle graduated from Hogwarts. It started as just the death of a muggle-born. She wasn’t killed by a wand, which threw off the detectives. It was a murder with a knife.

“It also took aurors a while to even place it as a murder within their jurisdiction. For a long time, they believed it was a muggle murder; she was living in a muggle town and was killed without magic. There was one oddity that stood out to aurors during the initial investigation. There was the signature that they only realized once more and more people were murdered,” Magnus sighed, “It’s the primary thing that is connecting your parents to this resurgence in violence.”

Isabelle leaned forward as he spoke and Clary pursed her lips, thinking. 

“Each person who was killed had a carved mark on their inner wrist. Each member of the Circle had their own design.”

Magnus rubbed at his eyes with a sigh. A heaviness had settled over the room and Isabelle and Clary exchanged a glance. They had only ever seen Professor Bane in cheerful moods, and this sharp contrast was unsettling. 

Magnus sighed again, shifting in his chair, “When the Circle eventually went on trial, the different designs were revealed in accordance with each member. That’s why these recent murders are so connected to your family, Isabelle. The marks that have been found on their wrists...well, they exactly match those from 20 years ago.”

Clary looked over at Izzy in sympathy but found that Izzy’s eyes were narrowed in thought. 

“How publicized were these trails, Professor Bane?”

He raised his brows, “The Circle trails? They were on the front page of every newspaper. Within a year, the Circle had murdered over 25 different muggle-borns and half-bloods.”

“Were the different designs also published?”

There was a pause before Professor Bane slowly said, “I believe at the very least  _ The Prophet  _ would have released some of different connections, yes.”

Isabelle took a sharp breath, “Hear me out. Would it at all be possible for someone to replicate the signature to try to frame my parents? Like, they saw the descriptions of designs - hell, even pictures - and then used it in a way to frame them?”

There was a long pause. Magnus’s next words came out slowly and carefully, “I mean...there is a possibility of that. But that is a big accusation to make, Isabelle.”

“Not as big as the one against my parents.” 

“Isabelle...”

She shook her head, “No, I’m not just going to ignore the fact that someone could be framing my parents. I know they’ve made a lot of mistakes, but trust me. They aren’t a part of The Circle anymore. Someone is framing them. And if you’re not going to do anything about, I will.” 

Without another word, she gathered her bag and left the room. Clary and Magnus stared at each other before Clary said, “I should probably go find her.”  
“Clary,” He rose to walk her to the door, “Even if Isabelle is right and someone _is_ framing the Lightwoods, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to prove. She’d be working against the entire Ministry and their current investigation.”

“You want me to tell her to not look into this?” 

Magnus chuckled softly, “Nothing you or I say will deter her from looking into this and we both know that. Someone needs to be there to keep her reasonable. Or, at least try to remind her that reason exists?”

Clary laughed lightly and shifted her bag, “I’ll do my best, Professor Bane. But you know Izzy. She might not want to listen to reason.”

* * *

 

Jace was reading in his dorm when the door burst open, revealing a flushed Isabelle. She was holding a collection of papers in her hands that were struggling to catch up to the speed Isabelle has been moving at. Before he can process and question how she got into the Gryffindor boys’ dormitory, she was excitedly speaking.

“I have a working theory of what’s going on with Mom and Dad-”

“Izzy, what are-”

“I think someone is framing them based on all the information from their previous crimes.”

Jace blinked. Isabelle looked frantic, eyes wide and she was panting slightly. 

Attempting to process her statement, he said,“Why don’t you sit down, Iz.”

She sat down at the edge of the bed and took a few deep breaths. Jace studied her for a moment, unsure of what question to ask of the hundreds that were running through his head. He decided, ultimately, to start at the beginning, “Where did this come from?”  
Isabelle took another deep breath and straightened up, “I’ve decided I’m not just going to sit here and wait for the Ministry to conduct their bullshit investigation while the person that...,” Her voice broke, “The person that murdered Max is out there, free and able to hurt more people. 

“No. So I went to the library to look for information on the cases from The Circle. Like, back when Valentine was first taken down. And then I talked to Professor Bane. Turns out the cases were highly publicized- it would be easy to find out the different signatures from everyone involved and then replicate exactly how it was documented. If they’re able to replicate those crimes -” 

“They can frame whoever they want.” Jace finished, realization dawning on him. 

“I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s the only thing that actually makes sense since obviously Mom and Dad are not guilty.” 

Jace nodded his head slowly, still trying to comprehend everything, all while thinking of the different events from the past four months. He looked up at his sister, his little sister who shouldered most of the stress over this and has been doing more work than he had realized. A bittersweet smile crept on his face, “We’re going to have a lot of work to do, sis. You know that, right?”

She nodded and as she opened her mouth, her hands coming up to fan out the papers in her hands, the door flew open again. Instead of one of his roommates, a small redhead with unruly curls stood panting. Izzy instantly brightened, looking between Jace and Clary. 

“We won’t be alone though. Clary has already been helping.”

“You -” Clary breathed heavily, “Are a difficult person to find, Isabelle Lightwood. I’ve been looking for you across the castle for the past forty minutes.” Unbeknownst to Clary, Isabelle had gone directly from Magnus’ office to the library again and found what she wanted: archives of the old Prophet articles and then run directly to Jace’s room- armed with more reading to do and three different speeches to get her brothers to help her.) 

Ignoring her but smiling, Isabelle looked back at Jace, “You’ll help me convince Alec, right? Something tells me he’ll be a little reluctant to work outside the Ministry’s orders.”

Jace snorted, imagining the look on his face when Isabelle explained her theory to him, “Of course. Once he hears it, though, he’ll have to believe it. It’s the only thing that’s made sense yet. And from there...we at least will have a good group of people together to try to get to the bottom of everything.” Clary- who was now laying on the ground panting- held up one hand in a thumbs up.

Isabelle beamed and though her eyes were still tired and sad, the smile was bright. “We’re going to figure this out, guys. I don’t care how long it takes. No more nice Lightwoods. Let’s do this.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses for taking such a long break from this story, wow. But it's a new year and it's one of my resolutions to finish posting all of this, so expect much more frequent postings.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is still reading this and massive thank you to my beta, Mandy. That girl is brilliant and her notes make this fic even better than what I could have imagined.

Alec stared at his siblings. Isabelle and Jace both had matching looks of hope and sheer determination. He looked back and forth between them, processing all the information Isabelle had just shared.

“So...you want us to do a full fledged investigation into this theory that you have? Am I understanding that right, Isabelle?”

“Yes.”

“An investigation that would probably be illegal since the Ministry is looking into it?” 

“Yup.”

“During the middle of our busiest years?”

“Alec, stop.” Isabelle leveled him with a glare, “Listen. I know this isn’t great timing and it breaks a bunch of rules but like...if we don’t do this, who will? The Ministry is clearly incompetent, the general public thinks our parents are evil, and Max is dead-”

Jace interrupted as her voice broke near the end of her sentence, “We need to do this, Alec. We can’t just keep waiting for something to happen.”

Alec sighed, “I know. I just...if we’re going to do this right, we can’t half-ass it. Our parents deserve better. Max deserved... _ deserves _ better.”

Isabelle lunged towards him, wrapping him in a tight hug. After a brief pause, Jace joined the hug. For a moment, they were united, truly united against anything the world was going to throw at them. 

“Okay,” Alec said as they pulled apart,his hands still holding onto his siblings, keeping them in a tight triangle “You’re running the show, Iz. Where do we start?”

***

Within the span of a week, Isabelle’s workload doubled. Between her course work in preparations for her O.W.L.s, quidditch practices being in full swing, and now constantly researching in the library on history that isn’t available, she was lucky if she was able to just sit for more than thirty minutes. 

It wasn’t all bad - between Clary, Simon, and the three Lightwoods, they had complied stacks and stacks of notes on the Uprising. There were still aspects that they didn’t understand - like why someone was trying to specifically target Maryse and Robert, but at least she felt like they had a better understanding of the events.

The library had basically become her new home, and it’s where Simon found Isabelle on Saturday night. She was slumped over a scroll of parchment, one hand cradling her head as she dozed off. Books of various subjects were spread about her in an organized mess.

He gently shook her, “Hey, Izzy.”

“What..?” She sleepily lifted her head and blinked at him slowly. He came into focus in sections, his worried face tilted near her own. 

“You fell asleep in the library.”

“Again?” 

Simon absently noticed that she had a smudge of ink on the side of her nose and resisted the urge to wipe it for her, “You need to rest, Izzy. Back in your Common Room - in your bed. You can’t keep working yourself until you pass out here every night.”

“I know, I know,” She rubbed at her eyes and stretched gracefully, feeling the pull as her muscles released some tension. “I just feel like we’re so close to figuring  _ something  _ out. We can’t stop now.”

He nodded thoughtfully, “Pack up your things. Let’s get out of here.”

Isabelle raised her eyebrows, “Where are we going?”

“Do you trust me?”

***

Twenty minutes and one ticklish pear later, Izzy found herself sitting on the counter in a cozy kitchen, with a mug of hot cocoa in her hands. House elves were scurrying about, some cleaning dishes, some cooking, and others keeping close eyes on both Simon and Izzy from various points in the kitchen.

Izzy took a sip of her drink, reveling in the sweet taste, it’s warmth traveling down to her toes.

Simon followed suit, sipping from his mug and staring out at the kitchen, “Whenever things get to be a little bit too much for me to handle, especially if there’s nothing I can do, I like to just come down here. It doesn’t change anything but the food is always just comforting and homey enough to distract me from whatever it is for the time being.”

“I can see how it would do that.”

There was a pause, the clanging of pots and pans washing over them. Simon took another sip before turning his head to look at Isabelle, “So...what happens when we find something?”

Isabelle blinked, slightly lowering her mug in shock, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what happens when we find something about these killings. Like, what is our game plan - especially if we can’t go to the Ministry?”

Her eyes began to water without her permission and Izzy blinked a few more times to prevent any tear from escaping. While she had managed to recruit her siblings and Clary and Simon, it felt like she was the only one who expected anything to come of their research, even more so as the days grew into weeks.  

She was proud of her voice only wavering a little when she said, “You know, you’re the first person to ask me what the next step is.” She let out a dry laugh, “I mean, I don’t know. I think it really depends on what we find or where it leads. I just...I need something that will help disprove it being my parents and I need something that will help us find out who could have killed Max. I can’t....I can’t bear the idea of that person just getting away with it.”

Simon nodded slowly, sipping his hot chocolate, “What have you found?”

“Not much,” Isabelle shrugged, “I’ve found out a lot about the different family’s methods of murder, which is so fucked up to read about. I’ve been reading about the trials but it doesn’t seem like anything useful.

“I have been marking a map of where all the recent attacks have been taking place,” She reached down and dug around in her bag for a rolled up map and passed it to Simon, “I remember Clary telling me that on all the muggle television shows that the detectives would try to see the radius or something? I don’t know but it can’t hurt.” 

As Simon skimmed the map, his heart rate began to accelerate, “Wait...you said this is a map of the most  _ recent  _ killings?”

“Yeah...it’s so grim to see it laid out like that, isn’t it?”

“No - I mean, yes,” Isabelle furrowed her brows as Simon tripped over his words, “That’s not why I asked, though. A week ago, I ran into Jace as he was leaving the library. We were talking about what we both found and he showed me this book that had a map of where each family had attacked during The Circle days. Izzy, there was a map that looked nearly identical to this one.”

Halfway through his explanation, Isabelle’s mouth dropped slightly open and she visibly began breathing quicker, “Simon, do you remember what family it was? What book it was?”

“I don’t but Jace probably does,”

She nodded quickly, already shoving the map and other bits of parchment back into her bag, “Pack up. I know the the password to the Gryffindor Common Room. We need to have a chat with my brother.” 

***

Jace was in the middle of a perfectly lovely dream about flying on a dragon when he felt an unpleasant, repetitive prodding at his face. He wearily batted away the offending object, only to have it poke back even harder. 

With a groan, he cracked open his eyes, before letting out a sharp yelp. Standing in the curtains of his poster bed were Alec, Simon, and Isabelle. Alec looked exhausted and just as confused as Jace felt and Simon at least had the decency to look sheepish. Isabelle, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with energy and Jace could already see the fire in her large eyes. 

“We need to talk. All of us,” Izzy said, already trying to pull him out of bed. He didn’t give into her prodding right away, on principle.

“Can’t it wait until morning, Iz? Some of us need sleep to function.” Jace whined, his words being muffled by a yawn. 

“Nope,” She popped the “p”, “I’ll go get Clary quickly and meet you in the Common Room. Bring all the books and research you’ve collected on these attacks.” 

She left in a flourish, the curtains swinging dramatically behind her. Jace stared at the two boys expectantly. Simon shrugged before following her out. He narrowed his eyes at Alec.

Before he could even say anything, Alec cut in, hands up in the air, “I don’t know, mate. She barged in fifteen minutes ago and literally dragged me out of bed saying we needed to have an emergency meeting. Said it was really important that all of us were here.”

Jace shook his head before pushing himself up, “Alright, well, I’ll meet you downstairs in a few.”

***

By the time Jace walked down to the Common Room, Clary and Isabelle were already camped in front of the fireplace, next to the others. Clary’s hair was even larger than usual and she blinked every few minutes, struggling to stay awake. Her bare feet were curled underneath her and he was pretty sure she had small cats on her pajamas. 

Suppressing a small smile, Jace sat down in between his siblings in the circle. He quietly pushed the small stack of books that he could find in the dark of his domoritry into the center of the circle.The warmth of the fire reminded him of his bed and he fought the urge to yawn again. 

Without any prelude Izzy dropped the bombshell, “We might finally have a lead.”

Clary gaped, her small hands darting up to cover her mouth. Jace turned to Alec who was already asking, “What do you mean? What’s the lead? What do you know?”

“Simon and I were talking about what we’ve found and I showed him this map that I’ve been working on. I’ve been marking down where all the recent attacks have been located - like you told me to do, Clary.” Clary nodded along, her eyes becoming more alive as Isabelle spoke.

“Anyway, when he saw it, he immediately recognized it and said that you, Jace, had seen a map just like it. But it was from the original attacks, from The Circle days. If this is true, we might actually have an idea of who is behind these attacks. Or, at least, we can move forward and work from there. But this can’t wait until morning, I can’t sleep knowing that we might actually be closer to finding answers.”

Almost in unison, the other four nodded. Jace cleared his sleep-clogged throat, “Pass over the map, Iz.”

She passed over a folded piece of parchment. A hush of anticipation fell over the kids. He opened it, hands slightly trembling. While the marks were slightly smudged and there were scribbled notes in the margins, sure enough, Jace recognized the map.

He met Isabelle’s eyes with a sharp breath, “Simon’s right. I’ve definitely seen this before.” 

Before anyone could say anything else, Jace quickly dug through his small stack of books. He grabbed  _ “The History of Modern Discrimination In The Wizarding Community” _ , and frantically flipped towards the later half of the book, which was dedicated almost exclusively towards The Circle’s history. There were several pages of maps, laying out where certain family’s within The Circle had attacked. 

Sure enough, on page 391, he found the map he was looking for and thrust it into the middle of their small circle. Not even trying to hide the tremors in his voice he said, “There. It’s nearly identical save for the attack in our village.”

The other four crowded over the book, looking between Izzy’s hand-drawn copy and the printed one. Alec sat back first, drained of color. 

“I knew that there was no way Mother and Father could have done it but like...I never expected proof. Not like this.”

Isabelle pulled back, looking grim but also triumphant, “We did it, you guys. We actually found something that can help us.”

“Jocelyn Fairchild.” Clary spoke up, “That’s apparently who was behind these specific attacks. Jocelyn Fairchild.” 

Jace frowned - despite the Fairchild family being a well-respected family in the Wizarding world, the name Jocelyn didn’t bring forward any faces or even any memories. While they were ashamed of their past, names of members floated into their parents’ conversation every now and then and Jace couldn’t think of a time he ever heard that name. Alec and Isabelle looked just as baffled.

“I’m assuming based on the silence that you guys don’t know who she is, do you?” Simon spoke up, looking between the Lightwoods’. 

Alec began to shake his head before he abruptly paused, “Wait, actually...” He began to dig in the pile of books, “Magnus gave me a huge pile of old records of the students of The Circle a while ago. I haven’t been able to properly go through it but she has to be in here.”

“It’s Magnus now, hmm??” Isabelle asked, her eyebrows shooting up. Jace grinned briefly and Clary smiled into her hands.

Alec steadyfast ignored them in favor of continuing to flip through a large stack of papers, though the tips of his ears turned bright red. Within minutes he let out a triumphant yell and placed a sheet of parchment in the center of the circle.

“Jocelyn Fair-”

Clary made a horrified noise and snatched the paper from the center, color draining from her face as she stared at the sheet. Her voice quivered as she whispered “This can’t be right, Alec.”

He glanced quickly at Jace, “It has Hogwarts’ official seal on it...and I don’t know why Professor Bane would give us fake documents....”

“No, you don’t understand, Alec,” Clary shook her head, eyes glued to the sheet, “This can’t be right...this is my mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooh damn. now we're finally getting into act two, if you will. as always please kudos and review if youre feeling kind
> 
> feel free to come chat with me (and bother me if i take too long to upload) on tumblr: ktbells.tumblr.com


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